


South of special nothing

by CharlyImperial



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Depression, M/M, Misunderstandings, Pacifist Ending, Post-Canon, Slow Burn, Some angst, bad self image, because Hank is very depressed, mentioned Simon x Markus x North, rude language, skype is still a thing in the future, some robot sexy times, what if Connor became a politician instead of staying at the police force
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-06-30 18:10:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 50,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15757026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharlyImperial/pseuds/CharlyImperial
Summary: After the android revolution Markus needed every help that he could get. With Connor's advanced social skills and speaking abilities he makes a great addition to the team of android politicians.Hank supports his friend's decision to go and travel with Markus. If only he wasn't missing him so badly.After months of being apart and occasional skype-calls, they finally re-unite. Just when a lunatic starts to target and hurt androids in Detroit.





	1. Chapter 1

He should get a new laptop.  
Maybe one of those fancy new models, that were basically just a holo-screen with a keyboard attached to them.  
But then again, he barely ever used his laptop. Until recently that is.

Now Hank was sitting at his kitchen table, waiting for time to pass. He looked at his old-fashioned kitchen clock, listening to it ticking the time away.  
Sumo was lying by the TV, which was turned off for once, and snored in his sleep.  
His dog and the clock ticking were the only sounds filling his house right now and it was driving Hank a little mad.  
He could not deal with the quiet anymore. It was ever present since he was alone in his house.  
First after Cole and after his wife had left him – A heavy silence that was a reminder of what he had lost. No child laughing, no wife chatting. He was completely alone.

And now… _again_.  
Connor had filled his life with sound. The sound of life, the sounds of not being completely by himself. His constant questions, his weird habits of licking everything, his never-ending curiosity. It all had filled Hank's life again. With joy, with wonder, with a sense of purpose.

But now Connor was gone, and the ever present heavy silence was back.

Hank was not saying that out loud and certainly not to Connor, though. He didn't want the android to feel bad for his decision to follow Markus and help to make the country a safe place for his fellow people.  
Connor's skills to read people, to analyze them and his advanced speaking patterns were useful skills for political debates. He was helping Markus a great deal. Especially since Markus schedule was impossibly full since the revolution.

Media wanted interviews with him – a lot of them.  
Politicians wanted to meet him, even from foreign countries, since they, too, assumed their androids would soon want equal rights. It was foolish to think this was only something to happen in Detroit alone.

Markus had to attempt general meetings, had to shake hands with the President and on top of all of this also listen to the worries and complains of his people. He had to make sure they had clinics, replacement parts and blue blood available at all times – had to make sure the police would actually stick to the new laws of android rights and help them as they would help humans.

It was, to say the least, too much.  
Even with the help of North, Simon and Josh. Markus needed any and every help he could get.  
And Connor, with his advanced abilities, was perfect to replace him for interviews and for talks with politicians – he spoke over 100 languages, Connor had told Hank before. And also, of course, to ensure that police worked properly together with androids.  
Hank was supportive of that. He knew that the way for equal android rights was a long and hard one. Nothing ever happened over night and he knew this phase was very important. Humans had to get used to the fact that androids were equal and that they were part of their everyday life now. That soon the whole world would need to accept the fact that humanity had played god and now they needed to live with the consequences of that.

But of course, this also required Connor to travel the country, sometimes even leave the country. Connor had been in Europe and Asia in those past weeks. People seemed to love him in Japan, Hank was not surprised.

Still.  
That left Hank alone in Detroit. And he had not expected for this to be so hard on him.  
He missed Connor deeply. His stupid questions and his stupid, goofy face.  
He even missed how the android had no concept of personal space and how he would never listen to anything he had to say.  
His life had been so full for the weeks they had been together and now it was quiet again.

So very silent.

The only thing that kept Hank from drinking himself into a stupor was that Connor still took time of his busy schedule to talk to him.  
A few times a week, once or twice, they talked. They skyped.

And Hank hated himself a little how he was eagerly looking forward to those days. He knew he was being pathetic, but their talks were like a lifeline for him. Something to look forward to.  
It made him happy to talk to Connor, to see his face. It eased the pain of missing him so very much at least for a little bit.

Hank wondered if Connor only talked to him so often, because he took pity on him. If he could tell how much this was keeping the old Lieutenant alive and well.  
But Hank preferred to not brood over this too much. In favor for his own mental well-being.

He looked back to his old Laptop. Skype was already open and soon Connor would call. He was always on time. If he told him he would call at 9 pm, it would never be 8.59 or 9.01. It was always exactly 9pm.

Hank was just wearing a T-shirt and, feeling a little pathetic again as he did so, had brushed his hair a little. He didn't want to look too shabby when Connor called him.  
He was only wearing boxer shorts, but the camera of his laptop would not pick that up anyway – so why bothers putting on pants?

9pm. The little window that announced an incoming video-call was popping up on his screen – On the clock, just like Hank had expected.

The man took a breather and relaxed his shoulders before he clicked on the green camera button to accept the call.  
His laptop needed a few moments before it had loaded – he really should get a new one – but then a new, screen-filling window popped up and Connor was smiling at him.

"Good evening, Hank." The android said, voice sounding soft.  
Connor was sitting at a desk and behind him Hank could see the clean white sheets of a hotel-room bed. He knew that Connor was in Oregon right now, filming a short documentary on the revolution. It was supposed to educate people on what happened – those who had not bothered to watch the news during that time.

"Hey Connor." Hank's lips curled into a gentle little smile. "How is it going over there?"  
He could see himself on a tiny window in the right bottom of the screen. God, he looked so tired.

"Exceptionally good." The android explained. "The film-crew and the director make an effort to show exactly what happened and stick to the truth of the event. Even though the director keeps insisting to put a focus on Markus and North kissing while the guns pointed at them. I fail to understand why this moment should be more than one of the many images that should be shown."

"That's because we are sappy, Connor. And we need to see emotion. Especially with you guys. Humans want to see that you're not just machines gone wrong. They need to see that you are capable of love. And a kiss is a very human way to express that." Hank shrugged,  
"Hell, even on TV if they want to catch you for a cause they show the most sad and heart-warming images they can find. It's an old tactic that never really changed."

"I understand." Connor's LED blinked yellow for a few moments. "I had not considered that the expression of love would warm humans for our cause. I had hoped the idea that we are alive is reason enough."

Hank chuckled and shrugged again. "Sorry, Connor. Most people are shitheads and we need a little more. I mean we even know how smart and empathic animals are and we still kill them and eat-"

"We are not animals, Hank." Connor interrupted him with a sharp tone of his voice.

The Lieutenant flinched a little and raised his hands quickly. "That's not what I meant, kid. Calm down. Sorry." He sighed, brushing long silver hair from his face. "Should have phrased that differently. I just wanted to say that humans need to see and understand how, well, human you are, to feel anything for you. We're shitty like that."

Hank wanted to slap himself for what he had said. Of course, Connor would misunderstand that. He could just hope that the android understood he had meant nothing bad with – just wanted to explain human nature a little better.

Connor's brows drew together for a moment, thinking. Hank enjoyed to see that the more time passed, the more expressive Connor was getting. He even started to evolve habits, like chewing on his bottom lip when he analyzed something that doesn't make sense to him at first. It was so human and if Hank was perfectly honest, it was making Connor even more handsome. Less pretty store-mannequin, more handsome young man.

"I do recall that the understanding of the Traci's love at Eden Club made you a little more open to the idea that we are alive." Connor then said.

"Yeah, it fucking did." Hank huffed amused and he leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed.  
"I guess there is just nothing more human or… natural, organic, than the idea of love. Of relationship. There is no way in hell that two robot machines with no feeling, fight so fiercely for each other. To value the other ones life over their own. Empathy and all that."

Connor's expression softened a little bit at that and he tilted his head, curiously.  
Hank wondered what Connor was thinking about.

"You never wanted me to get destroyed. You valued my life even though back then I could technically not die." The android then stressed out, leaning a little closer to the screen as he supported himself with his forearms on the table.

"Oh, shut up." Hank grumbled, cheeks warm. "Don't fucking think too much of this." He got defensive, feeling like his own emotions were presented on a silver tray and he hated that. Feeling so vulnerable. And he, honestly, didn't want Connor to read too much into this. Because what good would that do? The androids was miles away and probably would not return in the next few years at best. Connor would probably find himself a pretty little android lady and life somewhere on his own. And where would that leave Hank? With his chest ripped open and a gun back at his head. No thanks. Better keep it all locked up deep in his own bitter old heart.

Connor looked deeply amused though and his LED was blinking blue.

"Hey don't you dare analyze me through a fucking laptop!" Hank raised a warning finger at the screen.

"Forgive me." The LED stopped blinking and Connor, thankfully, changed the topic. "How is your work going?"

Hank breathed out, relaxing a little again.  
"I'm on a case right now that is driving me nuts since three days." He shook his head, "Some fucking lunatic is stealing androids body parts. Can you believe that? He uses an electro-shocker to stun them for a few moments and just takes off a hand, an arm, a leg. Anything, really. And then he leaves." Hank was using male pronounce even though he had no idea – but years of work and statistic of crime were giving it a high chance that the criminal was a male.  
"No harm done. Expect momentarily memory loss and a fucking missing limb. Once he even stole an eye. A single fucking eye. I don't get it."

Even though Connor's expressions got better with time, he still was often not very expressive. Just right now Hank could tell that Connor was excited to hear this and he wondered how much Connor must miss police work.  
After all that was what he was originally designed to do.

"Did the criminal leave any hints of who he is? Fingerprints? A message? A style?" The android wanted to know.

"No fingerprints. He either wears gloves or is, in fact, an android himself. No message. Expect the electric shock that every victim tells us about, there is no pattern. Different models, different areas of the city, different body parts." Hank explained. "If you ask me, I suspect someone is selling the parts. A black market for body parts of sorts."

That had Connor frowning.  
"But there are clinics for androids to get spare parts legally." He stressed out.

"Ah yeah? And they are also fucking expensive if I may remind you." Hank knew Markus and sorts were doing their best to make health-care for androids affordable. But with a capitalistic big company like Cyberlife having the monopole on parts and production, it was hard to keep the prices low.  
Hell, they didn't even manage to keep human health care cheap! Good luck doing that for androids.

"… I will talk to Markus about this." Connor said, sounding a little defeated. He knew this was a problem they barely had any power over.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up about this, Connor." Hank said a little softer then. "We will figure out what happened and you keep doing the best you can on your side. Those are just problems that were to be expected. This shit just takes a while."

The android smiled a little then and opened his mouth to say something, when suddenly his LED blinked yellow and his eyes twitched a little. Hank knew him well enough by now, to know that meant he got a message.  
"What is it?"

Connor glanced down to his hands, looking a bit guilty, and then back up again.  
"Simon wants to talk to me about our schedule tomorrow."

That meant they had to end the call for today. Hank could not help but feel a little disappointed. But that was Connor's life now – ever busy.  
Hank wondered for a brief moment how close this Simon guy and Connor were. He was usually the one travelling with him. Maybe they were…?  
Hank felt dirty and creepy for getting jealous. He should not. This was not his place.

"It's okay, kid. You go and have your talk. I need to go to bed anyway." Lies. He would stay up and drink until the pain was dulled. But Connor didn't need to know that. As far as the android was concerned, Hank was cutting back on his drinking.

"I'm sorry, Hank."

"Nonsense. This is more important than talking to boring, old me."

"Hank, you're not-"

"It's okay, Connor. Now fuck off and go have your talk." Hank said with no heat in his voice and a little smile.

"Good night, Hank. I will let you know when I have time to talk to you again." Connor said, nearly looking a little sad. Or was Hank reading too much into this?

"Good night." Hank saw that Connor was about to say something more, but he clicked the red button and hung up.  
He leaned forward and buried his face in his hands, elbows on the table. He was so pathetic.  
He should not do this. He should not feel anything for Connor.  
They were friends. Nothing more than that. And it should stay that way.  
And friends didn't get so sad, didn't miss each other to the point where it hurt so badly that they needed to drink it away.

Hank told himself that he was just falling for the first person that was nice to him in years. Because he was old and desperate.  
Connor just felt sorry for him, surely. That old, miserable dude with a drinking problem and a major depression.

On nights, when Hank hated himself especially much, he wondered if he should just break up the contact and ghost Connor till he forgot about him. To free him from the burden of worrying over a half dead miserable man.

Sumo ripped him out of his dark thoughts. The dog had sensed something was wrong and came over to him, whining and putting his large head on Hanks leg.

"Good boy." Hank said softly and pet Sumos soft fur. "Very good boy."

Maybe tomorrow the world would look a little brighter again. At least he could look forward to the next time he talked to Connor.

+-+-+-+

It was raining when Hank arrived at the crime scene.  
There was another police car and yellow, holographic tape around the house in order to keep the press away from entering.  
A few police androids were standing guard. By now Hank knew all their names, as they, of course, were also their own people now – with names and wants and needs and all the shit.

"Good Morning Lieutenant." One of them greeted him as he approached with a grumpy expression.  
The rain was ice cold and Hank huddled his coat closer around himself.

"Morning, Bill." He greeted the android back, ignoring the journalist who yelled questions at him from behind them.

He stepped past the yellow tape and entered the house. This was a good neighborhood with neat little gardens in the back and front of each, well-groomed house.  
As soon as he stepped past the white, wooden entrance door of the house, he could hear a woman crying in the living room and followed the noise.

Lisa Chen was sitting next to her with a data pad, trying to calm the woman, who seemed completely hysterical.  
Lisa shot him a desperate little look, showing that she was not getting much out of the lady right now.

Reed was crouching next to an android that was sitting in the doorframe between living room and kitchen.  
When Hank approached he seemed to be relieved – probably because that meant he didn’t have to deal with the android anymore.

"So. What happened?" Hank stood there with his arms crossed as Reed rose back to his feet.

"A break-in around 6 in the morning. Mrs. Fletcher, the owner of this house was sleeping upstairs. This android-" Reed saw the sharp look that Hank was giving him and rolled his eyes, "- Leonard, was downstairs, knitting a sweater for Mrs. Fletcher, when the back door in the kitchen opened. He went to investigate and when he saw the robber was hostile, he tried to flee. Only to get an electric shock in the back of his neck. Now he is here, both of his feet missing."

"Sounds familiar." Hank sighed and finally crouched down to Leonard. "Lieutenant Anderson." He introduced himself. "Anything to add to what Detective Reed just explained?"

Leonard looked absolutely terrified. His eyes were going back and forth between the humans and back to the open backdoor in the kitchen – as if he expected to get attacked again.  
"N… No." He shook his head. "I was just knitting for Mary when I heard the door opening. Everything happened so fast and when I realized I was shocked, my connection was interrupted for a few minutes. I woke up with my feet missing. I have no memory of what happened while I shut down. The door was closed again, so I guess he left through there."

"He? So you saw a man before you got shocked." Hank quickly picked up on that.

"Oh yes, it was certainly a male figure. He was wearing all black and a ski-masks, so I sadly can't tell you what he looked like otherwise." Leonard looked honestly sorry about that.

"Can you tell me if it was an android or a human?" Hank wondered.

"I fear I cannot. I had no chance of trying to connect to him. If it was possible at all, in case it was, in fact, a human."

Hank nodded and gave the android a little pat on the shoulder.  
"Get yourself some new feet and lock the backdoor from now on, okay? Chances are this will not happen again though. The attacker already got what he wanted as it seems." He glanced back at the still crying Mrs. Fletcher.  
"Will she be okay?"

"She is just shocked." Leonard nodded. "That someone broke into her home, attacked me and took parts of me. I can only assume this must be disturbing for humans."  
Given how the android still looked shaken and fearful himself, Hank assumed that didn't only apply to humans.  
"But she didn't see anything. She just found me and called the police."

"Alright." Hank got to his feet again. "Thank you, Leonard. If you remember anything else, please call us, okay?"

Reed had already fucked off to one of the officers who was taking fingerprints by the door – or was trying to.  
Hank joined him just moments later.  
"Any hints? Fingerprints? Footprints in the garden? Please fucking tell me you have something."  
It was getting frustrating that the attacker always worked so clean – barely leaving anything for them to find.

"Nothing." Reed grumbled, looking equally pissed. "Like a ghost just fucking coming in and out."

"One day he will make a mistake." Hank sighed. "And then we get the fucker. I have no doubts about that."

+-+-+-+-+

It was past 11pm when Hank finally was able to leave the precinct.  
After their body-part collector had successfully escaped another time, a gas station was robbed and a woman's apartment as well. Everything was assumed to be connected to androids, so Hank had to show up.

He was extremely tired when he finally grabbed his car keys and walked up to the parking lot.  
He was barely sitting in his car when moments later his phone was ringing.  
A text message from Connor.

_I have a surprise for you._  
_And a job._  
_Will you take it y/n?_  
_\- Connor_

Hank snorted about how Connor phrased that offer and could feel his heart speeding up a little bit in excitement.  
A surprise, huh? And a job? What the fuck did he mean with that?

_Would be fucking nice if you told me what kind of job!_  
_But of course I will ;)_

Hank answered directly. No use in playing hard to get and wait a few minutes before he answered him.

_Two more days and you will know._  
_Have a good night, Lieutenant._  
_\- Connor_

Hank smiled. Feeling a little bad about how easily Connor could leave him that happy. And it seemed like he had something more to look forward to.

 _Stop ending every message with your name. ;)_  
_Good night_.  
Hank wrote back.

 _Never._  
_\- Connor._  
Was the answer he got to that.

Im-fucking-possible. That cheeky little robot.

+-+-+-+

  
The announced two days passed slowly, dragging like gum. There was no new hint towards the body-part-collector, nor anything new from Connor.

Hank was mostly busy with paperwork and he hated it. It hardly kept his mind off things, especially negative thoughts that made him feel like shit and made him want to drink again. If there was one good thing about new cases then it was that they kept Hank busy.  
On days where he was stuck with his computer in the bullpen, his mental well-being usually suffered even more.

While he filled out those boring forms and typed down what happened at the robbery at the gas station two days ago, his mind went on a travel. He thought about that one time where he and Cole had taken a trip to a larger swimming pool – those kinds that had a bunch of different slides and pools to choose from. When they were driving home that evening, Cole had fallen asleep in the car, since he was exhausted from all the swimming and fun. He had looked so peaceful and happy sleeping.  
Hank remembered he himself had also been dead tired and needed to stop at a gas station to get himself a coffee. … What a weird detail to remember.  
God, he missed his boy.

His heart was aching and Hank had to stop typing for a moment, pinching the bridge of his nose.  
Maybe he should get himself a coffee and distract himself a little. It was nearly lunch time anyway.

Hank just got to his feet, when he heard Fowlers voice calling for him.  
"Anderson! My office. Now."

At least it was distraction, Hank told himself.  
Slowly, just to piss Jeffrey off a little, he walked over to the office and stepped inside. He closed the door behind himself and sat down in one of the chairs.

"I have a job for you to do." Fowler explained, glancing at Hank and then back to his computer.  
"The major hired us for personal security. The whole big deal – an Officer by those guys sides at all times, cars in front of their building 24/7. High security bullshit."

"And? Don't you have an officer for that? I'm hardly your man to play watch dog for some politician." Hank grumbled, crossing his arms defensively.

The corner of Fowlers lips raised to a little smile, even though he tried to hide it by taking a sip of his coffee.  
"I don't know, Anderson. You should re-think this."

"Oh come on, Jeffrey! Out there is a crazy person collecting android body parts! I really have better things to do." Hank complained, making a show of rolling his eyes.

"So, you really don't want to stick around Connor and Simon for a few days when they have talks with the mayor?" Fowler teased. "Shame, I might ask Reed if he-"

"-Wait!" Hank was on his feet when he heard that, unable to stop himself from doing that. "They come back to Detroit? Fuck! Yes, shit. Of course, I do that job! Ugh, you could have told me that directly!" Hank rubbed a hand over his face, embarrassed about his own knee-jerk reaction.

Fowler laughed quietly, leaning back in his chair with a smug grin.  
"And miss you flipping out like I just gave you a fucking present? No, Anderson, I enjoy to see you suffer."

If they weren't at work right now, Hank would have flipped him off. But like that he only silently glared at him.

"They arrive tomorrow at 7am at the airport. We arranged already that they will be guided through the first-class area to keep press and public a little away from them. But you know how it is – as soon as they get spotted its complete chaos." Indeed, as soon as one of Markus fellowship showed up anywhere, press ran over them like cockroaches. They could barely move, cameras clicking and filming them, journalists shouting questions at them – one louder than the other.  
And that was only press.  
Markus and his people had fans and foes by now. Usually there was a screaming mass of people who wanted to take a selfie with them – followed by a demonstrations by the hard core of anti-android clubs that were screaming to ´shut the machines down´.  
It usually was a complete mess.

Hence the protection they needed by police and private protection companies.  
Just in case.

"I'll be there." Hank nodded and turned to leave the office, not missing Jeffrey still smirking at him.

Outside the office Hank fished for his phone to shoot Connor a message.

_You fucker._

And like always the answer happened only a few moments later.

_I see Captain Fowler has delivered the good news._  
_I told you there is a job and a surprise for you._  
_I look forward to see you tomorrow._  
_\- Connor._

Hank couldn't stop smiling at his phone when he read the message. Fuck, he was excited. It has been months since he last saw Connor.

You could have told me earlier.

He still complained, because that idiot must know he was coming to Detroit again at least since a few days, if not longer.

_And ruin the surprise?_  
_Also, it was not sure yet if I can actually come. I also had an appointment somewhere else at the same time. But I managed to cancel it._  
_\- Connor._

Hank tried to not read too much into this again. But he was happy to see that Connor preferred to come to Detroit, instead of whatever the hell this other appointment was. Probably something equally important.  
Nothing that Connor did these days was ever not important for something.

_I look forward seeing you tomorrow, too._

Was what Hank answered to that.  
He waited for a few moments but got no answer to that anymore. So he was about to put his phone back into his jeans pocket, when it vibrated with another message.  
Connor again – Hank wondered why it had taken him longer to answer this time.

Hank opened the message and his heart stopped for a tiny moment. Just to then curse and tell himself that, again, he probably should not get any hopes up and read too much into this.

_I missed you._  
_\- Connor._

He breathed out and brushed some hair from his face again.  
Okay. Cool. Connor missed him.  
Of course, he did. They were friends and they had not seen each other in a really long time.  
Also, Connor was still, even after those months, new to expressing his emotions and he probably was not putting any implications into this.

Hank considered to not answer this. Just let it stand as it was and not seem to eager or give away that he was reading maybe something else into it.  
But then he couldn't do it. Maybe Connor would misunderstand his silence, and Hank didn't want that.

_I missed you too._  
_Gotta get back to work. See you tomorrow._

That was enough admitting feelings for Hank today. One might think he was getting soft. Can't have that.

Now, that he returned to his paperwork, his thoughts were focused on how tomorrow would be and they didn't return to sad memories.

Maybe Connor was doing him really good.  
Or maybe he was just a creepy, desperate guy, who was reading too much into text messages.  
Or maybe, just maybe, Connor really did miss him as badly as he was missing Connor.

  
+-+-+-+  
  
  
Of course Connor and Simon had to arrive at the airport at a ungodly hour. This meant for Hank to get up, let Sumo out and then drive to the airport while the whole of Detroit still seemed to be asleep.  
If anything, that at least meant that there was basically no traffic and his drive to the airport was a relatively calm one.

He got out of the car, sipping some coffee in a to-go cup and walked up to the airport building.  
All the calm that very early mornings usually were oozing was gone in one moment.

Inside the building, by the general waiting area, were already at least a dozen journalists, ready with their cameras – big and small – and talking to their co-workers about the questions they would ask as soon as they saw the androids.  
Hank also spotted a few people dressed more casually standing close-by, holding signs in their hands. He could not see what was written on them, but he assumed it was nothing nice.

It was amazing how this happened, given that, of course, no one had given out the information of when they would arrive, or at what time.  
Hank didn't want to think too closely about someone of his co-workers giving out information. It was an awful thought and it was too early for that.

A few of said co-workers were already there, making sure the Journalists and protestors stayed in one corner of the hall, so they would not disturb all the poor people that just wanted to catch their flight.

Hank threw the to-go cup into the trash before he stepped closer into the airports hall. It was easy enough to see where he had to go, given that all the journalists were trying to catch a glimpse of that area like greedy hawks.

For a tiny moment Hank allowed himself to freak out a little. Soon he would see Connor again. He had no idea what to say to him, or how to greet him. Should he… pat his shoulder? Shake his hand? Hug? Not touch at all?  
What should he say? He had to do his job and bring him safely out of here to a car that was waiting for them. Should he push this first and quickly? Or should he exchange a few words with him first?  
And what about this Simon-guy? He had never met him. He seemed friendly enough – a caretaker model, if Hank remembered correctly. Should he shake this guy's hand then?

And what if his awful assumption was true and Simon was only there, because Connor got himself a boyfriend after all?

Hank rubbed his face tiredly. He hated this. He didn't want to overthink this and kill his own joy, but that was just how he was.  
Raining down his own parade.

It was 7 am now and Hank took some confident steps towards the first class area of the airport. Enough freaking out – that was all he allowed himself. Now it was back to being professional and confident.

A big android was guarding the area, probably some kind of private security company who was helping them out.  
He gave Hank a gloomy look when he approached but stepped aside as soon as he saw his badge.

The waiting area for the first-class passengers was much more fancy than the big waiting hall outside. Much smaller as well.  
But there was carpet on the floor, paintings on the walls, comfortable looking seats and a literal tiny breakfast buffet with coffee machine and all.  
Hank could only spare a little roll of his eyes for that. Fancy shit that no one actually needed, for rich bastards who thoughts they were better than everyone else.

A few security people were standing around and so were a few other police officers. They really were making sure the androids stayed safe. But Hank was not surprised – one attack, even if nothing fatal, could cause a media outrage for weeks. And in the worst case stir the arguments between androids and humans again.

The first few people came from the plane that just landed. The usual business people in suits that looked a little surprised about all the security.  
Most of them got the hint and hurried past them quickly, not wanting to be involved.

Hank felt his heartrate speeding up. Any moment now.  
He felt like a stupid teenager right now, but he had not felt so much joy in weeks.

A few more people left before Hank spotted the familiar face. Big brown eyes, perfectly styled hair and those moles and freckles that were so nicely framing the pale, soft-looking skin.

He could see that Connor's LED jumped from blue to yellow when their eyes met and his lips curled into a smile – matching the big grin on Hanks face.

Connor pressed past the business people, who looked a little offended about that, and took the decision about how to greet him from Hank's hands completely.  
He ran up to him and nearly jumped into his arms – arms wrapping around Hank tightly and pressing him closer to his slender frame.

"Hank!" Was all Connor could manage to say for a moment there, holding the man close and unable to stop smiling.

"Whoa…!" Hank stumbled a little with the impact of Connor's hug, but then he couldn't help but laugh and wrap his arms around the android in return. One hand resting on the nape of his neck.  
"Hello to you too, kid." He chuckled.

A few people turned their heads and gave them curious looks, but Hank could not give less fucks about that.  
He held Connor tightly against himself, now sure this was okay because Connor did the same to him.  
Fuck, he had missed him so much. If he could he would not move away for hours now. Just holding him here, feeling him so close again, was like a sip of water for a thirsty, tired man.

Someone then cleared his throat and Hank took the hint to look up at another android with blond hair and a gentle expression.

Both, Connor and Hank, finally stepped away from each other, looking equally embarrassed about this.

"Hank – This is Simon. Simon, this is Hank." Connor quickly introduced the two, his LED blinking quickly and yellow like a wild heartbeat.

"Nice to meet you, Lieutenant. I've already heard a lot about you." Simon held his hand out for Hank to shake – again the man was glad that he didn't need to further think about how to greet the android. The first few moment of potential awkwardness passed without much of it actually happening.

"Nice to meet you too." Hank said, shaking Simon's hand firmly and giving him a little polite nod. "I hope you only heard good."

Before Simon could answer, one of the police officers called for them, saying that they should leave.  
"The press is going wild already." She informed them.

And indeed, already and even though they had not left the waiting area, they could hear the clicking of cameras and the protestors shouting ´machines are not alive!´ and ´death to all the robots!´ - The irony of that seemed to escape them.

"Okay you guys. That's how it goes – We walk fast, we don't stop, we answer no questions or look into the cameras. You will just follow me and I will bring you to the car that will bring us to your hotel. Understood?" Hank explained in a firm voice.

He looked at both of them, but while Simon looked somewhat anxiously over to where they would need to walk out, Connor's eyes stayed fixed on Hank's face. He faintly wondered if Connor was analyzing him again. The creep, he thought amused.

"Understood." Simon said then, making a gesture for Hank to lead the way.

Hank glanced at Connor for a tiny moment before he turned and started walking – with big, fast steps. No need to linger.  
Several police officers followed them, so that Connor and Simon were in the middle and protected in case that any of the protestors acted violent.  
Not that at least Connor would need that protection. Hank knew he could kick some serious ass if he wanted to. But it was more of a symbolic act. Something to show the public that they were not touchable.

As expected the shouting only got louder once they stepped outside the room. The cameras clicked wildly, the flash of them blinding them somewhat.  
Journalist kept shouting aggressively, as if it was a competition of who could be the loudest.

´What are your plans during your stay?!´  
´What will you talk about with the mayor?!´  
´Any statement to what the president of Portugal said last week?!´

But as Hank had told them to, neither Connor nor Simon were acknowledging them, or the protestors who were screaming terrible slurs in their direction.

Officers blocked the other walking people from getting into their way and within a few minutes Hank was by a car, opening the door for the androids and letting them in, before he followed inside.  
The whole way had maybe needed five minutes, but it surely had felt like much more. It was stressful to get yelled at, to get threatened with horrible things and that all mixed with the general stress that was always present at airports.

Hank breathed out in relieve when the car started driving them away and the journalists had no chance to be a pest for them anymore.

"My guess is the same bullshit will happen at the hotel as well." Hank grumbled then, looking over to the two other men.  
Connor was sitting in the middle, next to him, and Simon at the other side of Connor.  
The driver of the car stayed quiet and just silently transported them towards their destination.

"Curious. Has anyone given out word to the press when we arrive and where we stay?" Connor wondered.

"I assume we have a fucking rat in our lines, yeah." Hank sighed unhappily. "Because of course we kept this nonsense private."

"At least we are prepared for it. Even though I wish this could have gone by much more quietly." Simon said with a gentle expression. He sounded like someone who probably saw the positive in everything, Hank mused.

"Yeah." Hank shrugged, glancing back to Connor – who was of course still looking at him as well.  
"So? What are you guys doing exactly back in Detroit? Can't be homesickness."

"I would describe it as some form of homesickness. Even though I am not sure I technically have a home." Connor stressed out.

"Well, fuck of course you have-" Hank wanted to protest, but then Simon kept on talking.

"The Mayor wants to support us with our cause." The blond android explained. "And we're thankful for that. She wants to also stop the Cyberlife production of child-androids."

"Really? Why that? The child thing I mean." Hank drew his brows together because he could not figure out what that was all about.

"We came to agree that the concept of child androids is unethical. After all they can never grow up, always staying a child, while their minds – now deviated – will grasp the concept of adulthood. Of course, we can and will just treat them as equals at that point and not give them special care that children need, and which was originally programmed into them. But can humans do the same? Give work to an android that looks like a child? Treat them equal and as an adult? We figured it is the best to limit their production." Connor explained.

"But didn't you fight for rights to reproduce? I mean… If Mrs. android and Mr. android want to have a child…" Hank waved his hand to fill the gap of what he didn't want to say out loud.

"They can have someone that is their programming mixed together, as much as their looks. They will be able to allow the production of a new android that is a product of each of them. Of their love for each other." Connor said calmly, still looking at Hank.

"You shitting me? They just make an adult android then, that is a mix of both of them?" Hank deadpanned.

"If you want to phrase it like this. But yes. That is the general idea." Connor nodded.

"Fucking creepy." He huffed. "No offense you guys. But that’s weird."

Finally, Connor looked away again, his eyes now towards the front window, watching the street.  
"There is, of course, also the option of adopting a human child. But we still fight for that right and it brings the question of how and when to wake up a new android to keep our kind alive."

"Sounds much better to me." Hank waved his head so and so. "And I'm sure you would figure out something that regulates when and how new androids can join you."

The car came to a stop and as Hank had expected it, there were many journalists already waiting for them. Again a thunder of clicking cameras.

"For fucks sake." He cursed and pointed at the main entrance. "Same story: You guys hurry over there, don't say a word, don't make eye contact. We get you inside and to your rooms, then it should be quiet."

And the same story it was: Again, the journalist were yelling their questions, again they were nearly blinded by the damn flashlights.  
Just that this time the officers failed force a space for them and Hank, Connor and Simon had to shove themselves past the journalists, who of course, made no attempt to give them personal space.

One even grabbed Connor's arm and despite the android being technically much stronger than Hank, it was the Lieutenant who gave the man a rough push and barked at him to step away and don't touch.  
His size and deep voice usually had the nice side effect that it stunned and scared people enough to do what he said.

Soon, luckily, they slipped past the hotel entrance door and some of Hank's co-workers blocked the journalists from stepping inside and following them.

"Jesus Christ those cocksuckers." Hank hissed, glancing back at them with a sour expression.

While Simon already walked up to a hotel employee to take care of the rooms that had been reserved for them, Connor stayed by Hank's side.

"Thank you, Hank." He said, voice a little more quietly and private. "For taking this job. I was not sure how else it would have been possible for me to see you. I can barely set a foot outside, as you can see."

Hank turned to Connor and had a hard time fighting down a smile.  
"Don't fucking thank me. I would have done this even if you had the chance to visit me later. I told you I support what you are doing. And you do a good job, Connor. I saw that interview with you and the dude in Portugal. You really charmed him out of his seat."

Connor gave him a weak little smile for that, but it didn't reach his eyes.  
"I wish I could help Markus differently, I-" He shook his head, stopping himself. His LED went red for a few seconds and Hank could tell something was bothering Connor.

Simon came back to them and pressed the room keys into Connor's hand.  
"Room 245 and 246." He explained. "3rd floor. I leave you two for yourself. I bet you have a lot to talk about." He gave them a polite little smile and walked off again.

Outside the journalists were still taking pictures.  
"Come…" Connor gently tucked at Hank's arm. "Let's go to my room. We can talk there."

And Hank followed. Of course he did.  
He would follow Connor anywhere.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments and kudos :) it's insanely motivating and had me return to writing quickly! 
> 
> This chapter is a bit of a bridge from where this started to the drama this will eventually lead to.
> 
> Just a head's up for people being very rude to Hank and Connor on the internet!

With his keycard Connor opened the door to his hotel room.   
This was one of the better hotels in Detroit – The carpet was clean and expensive, the bed looked very comfortable and the general interior of the room seemed somewhat luxurious.   
  
"Fancy." Hank whistled, looking around the room as the door clicked shut behind him.   
  
"It doesn't seem necessary." Connor gave a little shrug, looking around for a moment himself. "I need no bathroom, nor do I require a bed to sleep in. I just need a place where I can shut off into stasis and do recommended updates and repairs. But Markus said it's a matter of how humans look at us."   
  
Hank shrugged and walked over to the bed, sitting down on its edge.   
"He is not wrong." He said, "You're a political figure now and people watch every step you take. If you guys just stood around a hallway, shutting down like a broom in a closet, it would weird many people out."   
  
"I find it hard to… find a balance with all of this." Connor admitted and he came to sit down next to Hank.   
"We're alive, yes. But we are not human in the sense that we live like you do. And yet it is required of us to act human, so people will not look down on us. I find it hard sometimes to act like this. To pretend." He looked down on the hands that he had put in his lap.   
  
Hank sighed a little, shrugging helplessly.   
"I told you humanity is somewhat shitty in that aspect." He tried to explain. "We need so much to accept you. If you acted more… android and less human-like, I really think some people would freak out."   
  
"Would you?" Connor looked up and met Hank's eyes. "Would you freak out if I just… de-activated my skin, or asked you to have a look at my hardware?" There was a hint of fear in Connor's voice and Hank wondered just how much that topic was bothering Connor.   
  
He could only try to understand just how much of a struggle that was. Even before Connor deviated, he liked to remind Hank that he was, in fact, not human. While Hank had tried his best to see and stress out the humanity inside Connor.   
  
"I told you we're not that different, Connor." Hank said, trying to sound as understanding as he could.   
"I don't give a flying fuck if you have shiny plastic skin and wires underneath. You're just as alive as I am. And people will learn that too. It will just take a while. I know things are weird right now, but hang on a little longer, okay? Give people some ease in thinking you sleep and piss like them, while they get used to the fact that they share earth with you now."   
  
Connor looked back down to his hands. And while his posture was still straight and somewhat stiff, like always, and his expression was controlled and neutral, Hank thought Connor seemed tired. Or maybe he was just projecting right now.   
  
"Hey…" Hank reached out and put a hand on Connor's back. "No more bullshit now, okay? Let's enjoy this. I'm glad to see you again and not just on a computer screen."   
  
That had Connor picking up a little again, looking back at Hank, smiling.   
"I'm glad to see you too. Without a screen." His LED blinked a gentle blue. "Even though I enjoyed our skype conversations."   
  
"Oh, bullshit. I bet it was a bother." Hank huffed and took his hand away again, scratching his beard instead.   
"You always seemed so busy and like I took a bunch of time off your damn stupid schedule."   
  
Connor looked amused about that and his little smile only grew a bit more.   
"That is not correct, Hank. I really enjoyed talking to you. It is always nice to have something to look forward to that is not talking about laws and politics and the revolution."   
  
"Uh-huh, you just looked forward to me telling you about the cases I am on, you workaholic." Hank teased, but regretted it immediately, because that little smile was knocked off Connor's pretty face in a second.

  
"… I do miss working there." The android admitted like it was something to be ashamed of. "I should not, though. Considering I have a much more pressing matter to take care of. This will determine the future of my people after all."   
  
 And with Hank realized how much responsibility and weight was on Connor's shoulders. And how he might not be very happy about that.   
  
"Connor, be honest: Is this what you really want to do? All this here, I mean? Bothering with politics and all that nonsense?" Hank wondered, brows drawing together in concern. So much for changing to a more light and happy topic.   
  
"It's not a matter of what I want, Hank." Connor sat up a little straighter. "I gladly do what Markus asked of me. And I will do it to my best ability."   
  
"So, you don't want to do this. You just feel like you have to do it." The lieutenant stressed out, shaking his head.   
"That's not good. You are free now, you have your own will. I get this is important, but you're not the only one helping Markus. If this makes you unhappy, you should leave. Don't waste your freedom away."   
  
Connor's LED went bright red for a few moments and Hank knew he had struck a nerve there.   
The android got to his feet, pacing and thinking for a moment.   
  
"You don't understand." He said sharply then. "I nearly ruined this. I am… was… the deviant-hunter after all. The… the thing that other androids whispered to each other about in fear." He used his hands to gesture as he talked, and if the topic wasn't so serious, Hank would be glad about this little tick of his. Connor had always been very fidgety.   
  
"Yeah? And by now you fucking did enough to make up for this." Hank grumbled, "Besides you were still following your programming back then. You didn't yet have a choice in the matter. Stop blaming yourself for this. If that is the only reason you do this, I call bullshit on that."   
  
"You don't get this." Connor stopped pacing then, looking out the tall window of the room. It showed the skyline of Detroit, the city slowly waking up underneath them.    
  
 Hank got to his feet then as well, stepping closer and behind Connor. It pained him to see the android so stressed and full of guilt.   
"You say I don't get feeling guilty and destroying yourself over it? Wow, you really don't know me very well."   
  
Connor turned his head a little to look at Hank, and the Lieutenant could not help but curse himself for how much those big sad puppy eyes were having an effect on him. He was cursed.   
  
"That's not what I meant, Hank. I am aware of your situation and how much it hurt you. But I am not destroying myself over anything. I am doing what I think is the most logical and responsible step. I admit that I would prefer another kind of work, but I am thankful that I am here to help and make the world a better place."   
  
Hank sighed again, looking over Connor's shoulder to the picture of the city outside the window.   
"You are a stubborn bastard, you know that?" He shrugged. "You said earlier that you don't really have a home. That's bullshit too, and I hope you know that. My door is always open for you and I'm sure, should you finally get your head out of your own ass, that Fowler would gladly give you your old job at the precinct back."   
  
Connor turned around and leaned against the big window behind him. He had to look up to Hank a little, just because they were standing so close.   
Hank had no memory of when he had stepped so much into Connor's personal bubble. But fuck it – if the android could have this annoying habit towards him, he could do the same. Besides, he enjoyed being so close to Connor.   
  
"I think I learned a thing or two about stubbornness from a certain human." Connor's smile was back on his face.   
  
"As long as you don't pick up the habit of ruining your own life from me, I'm fine with that." Hank smiled a little back at him.   
  
Connor tilted his head then, still smiling. Hank couldn't help but think of how beautiful he looked in the early morning sun, looking at him with that soft expression.   
Fuck, he was too deep in this.   
  
"I think you picked yourself up quite well, Lieutenant. You look much better than last time I saw you." The android said like had observed something very clever.    
  
"Brownnosing program is still up and running, I see." Hank raised an eyebrow.   
  
"I guarantee you that I closed and deleted that program from my software as soon as I met Detective Reed the first time." Connor explained and Hank couldn't help but laugh about that.   
  
"You're such a fucking smartass. God, I missed you." Admitting that out loud couldn't hurt, right? They had already said this via text messages.   
  
What Hank didn't expect, was that admitting that only lead to Connor wrapping his arms around him again.   
The android pulled him closer and put his face against the larger man's shoulder, hiding away a little. His yellow LED was blinking in the corner of Hank's eyes.   
"I missed you too, Hank." It sounded muffled as he spoke against the coat.   
  
Hank breathed out and had his arms back around Connor too, leaning a little against the window behind them. It felt different now to do this – private, with no eyes watching them.   
Hank could feel the tension of weeks just leaving his body. He was so insanely touch starved.   
  
Connor didn't make an attempt to move from where he was for a long while. They just stood there, quietly and embracing each other.   
  
But Hank could feel himself getting restless after a while, not because he was not enjoying this and didn't want to continue, but because it left him longing for more. More closeness, more touch. It left him with the wish to embrace Connor in a different way than just a hug.   
  
It became painfully obvious that what he assumed he was feeling since weeks now, was actually correct.   
And that left him completely and utterly fucked. Feelings always ruined everything. He had said it before and he still stood with that.   
  
"Hey, Connor…" Hank gave the android's back a little rub, giving a hint that it was okay now to let go of the hug.   
"You didn't tell me what the plan is. How much time do we have?"  
  
Connor pulled back, even though his hands stayed on Hank's upper arms. So he still was not letting much space between them.   
"We have the meeting with the mayor at 9.30." He explained. "I fear we need to go back into a car again and drive to her."   
  
Hank huffed out a breath. Not only had he hoped they would have a little more time together before Connor had to go to his first appointments, but this also meant they had to go through the stress of getting Connor and his friend into a car again. What a huge pain.   
  
"Alright." He said casually, still. "I guess we have to get ready soon then. I will make a call and ask for the car to be outside the employee's entrance. Maybe the journalists don't expect that and we can just get in and out with no problems."  
  
Finally and with all his willpower Hank stepped away from Connor and fished for his phone. He walked a little away from the android and dialed the number of one of his co-workers that he knew was with them inside the Hotel.   
  
It only took him about 2 minutes, before his co-worker promised to make sure the car would be where Hank wanted it.   
  
They only had about 40 minutes before they needed to leave, so both of them sat down on the edge of the bed again – for the lack of two chairs in the room – and they just spent their time talking. Catching up on what they had missed.   
  
Connor told Hank the story of the foreign minister of Germany – who was a weird old guy who kept touching Connor's waist when they were posing for press pictures. Connor had found that inappropriate but decided to keep quiet about it. To keep the good mood up, he explained.   
  
"Gross. I bet he thought you were hot and made a move on you." Hank made a face when he heard that.   
  
Hank then talked about the robbery of the gas station. How it had been a bunch of teenagers with cheap masks, no gloves and a fake gun, who had probably seen too many action movies. They also had stumbled over their own feet and had managed to drive the car into a wall when they were fleeing the police. Nobody got hurt, besides the car and all of them were arrested and waiting to see a judge right now. It was hilarious.   
  
"And anything new about the case about the stolen android parts?" Connor asked, looking already much happier that he heard about what was going on in his old job.   
  
"He stole again." Hank pointed at his feet. "Took some poor guys feet. Both of them. He broke into the house and attacked him with an electric device again. No fingerprints, no face. The victim could only tell us, that he assumed it was a male. Like I already predicted."   
  
Technically he should not tell all of those details to a non-officer. But hell, this was Connor and not just anyone. Besides if it made the android happy Hank was willing to overlook a few rules to make that possible.   
  
"It's curious. The attacker knows what he is doing. He also seems to know exactly how to make an android shut down without seriously damaging them. … Or he doesn't know any better than that. Maybe he would damage his victims but found that way of attacking the most effective." Connor wondered.   
  
"He would be able to hurt them as long as they are shut down. He never does." It didn't make any sense. If his intention was to damage them – why not do so when they were defenseless?   
  
"Maybe he enjoys the hunt. My database suggests that there is a chance of 19% that the attacker has sadistic tendencies, given he seems to choose his victims carefully." Connor stressed out.   
  
"Wait… what makes you think he chooses them specifically?" Hank had not said anything that was hinting towards that, had he?   
  
"I cannot be exactly sure of that. But what catches me as odd is that, if we follow your idea that he takes those parts to sell them on a black market, he only ever takes a little something off the androids. And not only that – he seems to be going to great lengths to catch different models. I have the assumption that if I could take a look at the model numbers, it would show that they are models whose parts would be compatible. So why bother only taking one or two things from each android? An eye, two feet, a leg? Why not take more? If he wants to make money off the things." Connor explained and he looked very proud of himself as he did so.   
  
"I barely gave you anything and you already are a step ahead of me. Fucking androids." Hank huffed and rolled his eyes, even though he was glad for this. Because Connor was right – This didn't add up. Why only take so little things of each victim?   
  
Hank glanced at his phone and got to his feet. His back was popping just from sitting on this very soft bed, which had him groan quietly and rubbing his back.   
"We have to leave now. Your appointment starts soon."   
Connor didn't look too excited that their conversation about the case was already over, but his sense of responsibility had him standing quickly. And that without a popping back. Which was unfair, if you asked Hank.   
  
They left the room at the same time as Simon just stepped outside his.   
"Oh, hello you two. Connor send me a message that we leave?"   
  
That had Hank confused for a tiny moment, but then he remembered androids had their ways of communicating like a damn hive mind.   
  
"Ah. Yes. I arranged that the car waits for us at a back entrance." Hank pointed in the direction of the stairs – much more anonymous than the elevator.   
  
As they walked in silence, Hank threw little glances in Simons direction. The android was, like literally all of them, a handsome fellow. His nose was prominent and his eyes were a nice shade of blue.   
The fact that Connor and Simon had taken two different rooms was giving Hank a sense of relieve – even though he didn't want to think that way. But it did leave his suspicion that those two might be more than just friends, hanging.   
  
But then again, Connor had said it himself: They were not human. Their idea of how things were done was a different one.  Maybe they had no sense of sharing a room, for as long as they could do that hand-touching thing, that Hank had seen on TV with Markus and his girl.   
  
Hank sighed under his breath, cursing himself for thinking about this at all. He should not.   
  
He leaded the androids through the hotel's kitchens, towards an emergency back exit. There was a large buzzing red EXIT sign above the door.   
  
As Hank had ordered there was a car waiting for them and finally and for the first time today, the press had not caught on to their little plan.   
Simon and Connor could slip into the car and Hank followed them inside, without much trouble.   
Also, this was showing Hank that the co-worker he had called was not the rat in their lines.   
  
During the whole way towards the mayor's house, Simon and Connor went over their plan of what to talk to her about. Hank tried to stay polite and not listen to them. He was just playing bodyguard here. All those political talks were – thankfully – none of his business.   
  
He looked at his phone and read up on some news on a micro-blogging website, similar to what Twitter was in his youth. With the platform long gone, others had taken over, but they had a similar idea behind them.   
  
One of the hashtags left Hank alarmed.   
  
_#androidsindetroit_   
  
It was a recent one, just two hours old and Hank clicked on it. Some pictures of Simon and Connor leaving the airport were already going around. They didn't appear to be professional pictures, but likely something that some protestors had taken with their smartphones.   
  
Hank decided to not tell the androids about this. Especially since most of the comments were less than positive.   
How androids are the enemy.   
How androids would destroy humanity.   
How they should burn.   
It was sickening.   
  
Only occasionally did he saw some positive comments. He found some under one of the pictures. How adorable Simon was looking today. How sexy Connor looked in his simple black suit.   
It was still odd to Hank how the group around Markus had become such public figures. Everyone knew their names, everyone knew what they looked like.   
  
A human would surely bath in the money and fame this got them, but the androids just seemed uncomfortable with the attention.   
It was sad, given they just wanted to have a normal and quiet life.   
  
Now Connor's and Simon's and North's and Markus' pictures were sold like they were damn popstars. And not serious and important political figures.   
Hank sometimes wondered if the turn this was taking, would damage their cause. Would make them not being taken serious anymore.   
  
Hank scrolled down the website a little more, before he froze. There was another picture. It was right at the hotel. It was himself and Connor looking at each other with, smiling.   
It was a bad quality picture, that was taken through the glass doors of the building from afar – but it was still pretty obviously them.   
  
_Who's this?_ One comment under the picture asked.   
  
_Probably his sugar daddy :P_ Someone answered.   
  
_Ugh, that’s fucking disgusting, that older dude is gross af!  
  
_ Hank closed his phone and his eyes for a tiny moment. He should not have read that. That left a painful little twinge in his stomach and only added to his self-doubts.   
Gross. Yeah, probably.   
Outside eyes just looking at what he probably really was.   
  
"… Hank?" Connor looked over to him, as if he had sensed his discomfort. He probably had scanned some micro-expression thing on him.   
  
"Huh?" Hank rubbed his face and looked over to the androids then. "I'm fine. Just tired." He lied through his teeth.   
  
That was enough for Simon to turn back and talk to Connor again, but the brown-haired android's gaze stayed lingering on Hank for a little longer. He was clearly not believing him.   
  
It only took them a few more minutes before they arrived at the mayor's house. Here, too, cameras were already clicking. But luckily the mayor's property was cut off with a big fence and security, so the press could not follow them inside.   
  
"We're here. I will wait right here to pick you guys up again." Their driver said from the front seat, but he didn't turn around to face them. He sounded very bored with this job. Hank wondered why they were not having a self-driving car anyway.  
  
"I will stay close to you guys, but I keep in the background, don't worry. You get all the privacy for your talks." Hank quickly informed them and made a gesture to get out of the car.   
  
He was nothing but a watchdog today, and he would keep himself in the shadows.   
But he would not let his eyes off the two androids, no matter how much the mayor might not want him there.   
  
The three men stepped up to the big, wooden entrance door of the mayor's manor. The building in itself was huge and a well-groomed garden surrounded it.   
Hank could see someone watering the flowers a few steps away from them. The worker didn't even look up as they passed him.   
  
The door opened when they were close enough, like someone knew they were coming.   
  
A younger woman with red hair and a knee length pencil skirt opened them, wearing a perfect smile.   
"Welcome, Mr. Connor, Mr. Simon." She greeted them and took a step to the side so they could come in.   
When she saw Hank, her expression changed to some controlled confusion – which Connor seemed to catch directly. His ability to read people really was handy at time.   
  
"This is Lieutenant Anderson. He accompanies us today for security reasons." The android explained.   
  
"Yeah, don't pay attention to me. I'm just their shadow." Hank shrugged. He could see that Connor shot him a glance, as if he was not too happy about how he put that.   
  
The woman, which Hank assumed was some kind of personal secretary, still nodded and smiled at Hank politely.   
"Very well. Please gentlemen, follow me." She turned around and walked down a large hallway.   
  
A pretty thing, Hank thought. Even though it had him realize how much he didn't care for that anymore. Not because his interest in the opposite sex had died off, but because his attention was simply on someone else right now.  
They ended up in a large room, that literally had nothing but giant and expensive looking oil-paintings in it. They hung on the wall around the whole room, only interrupted by some artsy statues, that were standing on pedestals by the walls.   
Hank had simply no sense for art like this – music, yes. Literature, yes – but paintings? Certainly not.   
  
The secretary turned towards them with another smile.   
"The mayor excuses herself for a little bit. An important call from New York just came in. But she will join us soon. Until then allow me to show you around."   
  
Great, Hank thought, appointment turned into museums visit. Something told him this would be a long day.   
  
The woman pointed at the first painting. It was a man's face, painted in all shades of blue and black.   
  
"An original Carl Manfred." She explained. "He finished this painting in 48 hours – his quickest work and one of the most beautiful too, if you ask me."   
  
Simon's eyes got big and he stepped closer to the framed painting.   
"This is Markus. Look. You can tell it's his face."  
  
"Markus did consider Mr. Manfred his father. I am not surprised." Connor said, hands crossed behind his back and posture tall.   
  
"He told me Carl used a specific technique to paint those pictures. He called that collection the blue-line. Every single one of those paintings used a certain range of shades of blue. They were specifically mixed for him." Simon explained, eyes still glued to the painting.   
  
The secretary gently took Simon by his arm – which struck Hank as a little odd – and leaded him further into the room.   
"We have another one of the blue-line. You might want to look?" She stayed close to Simon as they walked.   
  
Connor, meanwhile, stayed a little behind and by Hank's side.   
  
"Boy got himself a fan there." Hank muttered quietly over to Connor. Both of them watched the two stroll along the wall towards the next painting.   
  
"Too bad he already is with someone else. An android, that is." Connor said back just as quietly and clearly amused.   
  
That amusement wasn't catching on to Hank though, because he felt the ugly jealously biting at his heart again.   
Maybe he should just ask. Don't be a coward. It would safe him a lot of trouble.   
  
"That you?" Hank asked, trying to sound as casual as possible, even though his voice was a bit tight.   
Connor looked at him with a tiny smile on his face and Hank suddenly feared that he would scan him and read him like a damn book.   
  
"No. Not me." Connor's voice was still quiet, like they were sharing secrets. "Markus."   
  
Relieve and surprise were hitting Hank at the same time, and he glanced over to Connor with raised eyebrows.   
"Markus? But I thought he is with that North girl."   
  
Connor nodded and then shrugged. "Both. He is with both of them."   
  
"Jesus Christ." Hank looked away again, following Simon and the secretary with his eyes. "Robot-Jesus gets properly laid."   
  
"If you want to phrase it that way, I guess. He gets properly laid." Connor said with a overdone seriousness in his tone, that Hank recognized as the androids weird idea of humor.   
  
"Doesn't that cause… you know? Jealousy and all that stuff." Maybe Hank was just a little old-fashioned. He rather has one partner and be done with it. Two sounded not only exhausting, but he was not the type for sharing – given how he already got possessive over Connor, who was not even interested in him.   
  
"According to a statistic that was raised in the year 2026, around 58% of Americans are comfortable with a polygamous relationship, Hank. Given some years have passed since then, I predict a raise of at least 5% to that."   
  
"Are you calling me outdated?" Hank huffed.   
  
"No. Your preferences simply seem to be different. What I am saying is that this is a perfectly common form of relationships. My first instinct was to tell you that androids might have different idea about this, hence their sexuality working a little differently, but a quick research suggested otherwise. It's very human as well."   
  
Hank caught on two things here: First of all, that Connor sometimes still talked about the other androids as ´them´ or ´they´ - like he was not part of them. It only underlined how much Connor still felt left out, which played right into him feeling guilty about his past. Hank tried to keep that in mind and talk about this during a more fitting moment. He would not let Connor get himself eaten up by a guilt that he put on himself alone.   
And then his interest got caught about android's sexuality working differently from human's. What was that supposed to mean?  
  
Hank opened his mouth to say something, but then decided against that. He felt like crossing a line of friendship here. You do not ask about sexuality like this. Even though it had been Connor himself who had raised that point.   
He saw how the android glanced at him, like he was waiting for him to say something. Or maybe he was waiting for him to ask? Connor was insanely calculating at times and it sometimes confused Hank just how much Connor never said anything by accident. He wondered if that had been a bait and he just refused to bite. Either way, Hank didn't consider it a civil question, given the place and time, so he kept quiet.   
  
Suddenly the secretary turned towards them again and called over from the other side of the room.   
"The mayor now has time to see you. Please follow me into her office." She had her finger against her ear, hinting that she wore a little earpiece for communication.   
  
Hank was glad about this. It spared him an answer.   
But he would need to talk to Connor eventually. At least when it came to him feeling like he didn't belong.   
  
+-+-+-+-+   
  
How the talk with the mayor went, Hank could not tell. They asked him to wait outside the office. At least the secretary was decent enough to offer him a cup of coffee, before they left him sitting in the hallway – Bored out of his mind.   
  
Now he was sipping weird European coffee, from a delicate, fancy coffee cup, that looked like it would shatter in his large, rough hands.   
  
He scrolled through a website on his phone, checking on the latest results on basketball and football games. He had placed some bets on some teams, but it seemed like he had lost a bunch of money today. Damnit. Just his damn luck again.   
  
He was just about to text one of the people that he usually contacted to place new bets, when he got a message from work.   
The body-part-collector had done it again. In bright fucking daylight nevertheless.   
  
"Shit." Hank cursed quietly to himself. He could not leave this place now – he could not go anywhere, in fact, for the next days. His tasks had been put on hold, so he could stay with Simon and Connor.   
Now it was Reed's case and hell if Hank didn't hate that.   
  
An idea sparked in his head. Oh, they would be breaking some rules. But Hank got the idea Connor would be absolutely ready to do some mischief by his side.    
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Hold me like one of the porcelain cups, Hank. Break me!! - my girlfriend after this chapter. 
> 
> Next chapter the real action will start, I promise ;D Let's break Connor out of his politician shell! 
> 
> But please let me know what you think :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Hank and Connor take some steps towards each other.   
> And Hank is afraid.

The talk with the mayor took them nearly three _fucking_  hours. Hank thought he was going crazy out here in the stupid hallway.   
At some point he even started to watch some stupid videos on an online video platform, just to keep himself busy.   
  
He ended up watching dog videos and suddenly felt like he was in his 20s again, trying to kill some time in his own little apartment because he literally had no money to do anything worthwhile besides that.   
Bad memories. He was glad now it was only his depression keeping him from doing things and not his money problems.   
  
When Simon, Connor and the mayor finally stepped outside the big office, Hank got to his feet to follow them.   
The group payed barely any attention to him – well, except Connor who shot him a little smile. He really was nothing but a shadow in the background.   
  
He could not wait for this to be over, so he could talk to Connor about his plan. He had enough time sitting around and doing nothing, to think closely about it.   
  
Sadly, no matter how well he planned this, they would need some luck as well and he had no influence on that factor.   
But for now, he had to follow the group around.   
  
They got back into the car – the mayor in her own, much more luxurious one – and left the place to drive up to one of the bigger Cyberlife factories in this area.   
As they had explained to Hank before, they were talking about the production of child androids and the moral problems this caused.   
  
A Cyberlife employee leaded them through the big production halls and explained possible solutions. How child androids could upload their memory into an adult body once they reached this consciousness or how they could generally program a natural shut down in androids to avoid the problem of semi-immortality all together.    
Which was fucking creepy, if you asked Hank. Were they really talking about giving androids the opportunity to die?   
  
Hell, this topic sat badly with Hank. He could not deal with death, not even with the possible topic of it, anymore. He didn't want to hear this.   
And since he luckily was not part of those important conversations, nor did he had anything to say in the matter, he chose to not listen anymore.   
Instead he looked around, staying a few steps behind the group.   
  
He could see some ´blanks´ standing around, in front of big white machines. Hank knew they were called blanks, because they were not yet androids. Technically. All they were in this state, are empty, white and shiny shells that had a human form. They were not programmed yet to work, wake up or have any functions.   
Still, it looked creepy to see them standing there. Motionless, eyes empty and colorless. Like undressed store mannequins.   
  
Hank tried to keep in mind that Connor looked like this once too. Or technically still looked like this, under his skin. Curiously enough and unlike those motionless blanks standing around, this was not creepy to Hank in the least.   
It would still be Connor, right? He honestly could not care less much how he looked like.   
He wondered if the android cared, if he ever would show himself like this. But he did ask Hank before if he would mind if he deactivated his skin. Maybe this was a-   
  
"Hank?" Connor looked at him and Hank could see that the group kept moving.   
  
"Coming." Hank cleared his throat, a little embarrassed that had spaced out like this, and followed them.   
  
The tour through the factory took another hour and it was only mildly more interesting than sitting in the mayor's hallways for the longest three hours of his life.  
Hank specifically kept ignoring what they were talking about – it really left him uncomfortable – and spend his time looking at the big machines and computers.   
  
By the end of it, Hank was hungry and tired and he watched from a few steps away how Connor, Simon and the mayor shook the Cyberlife's employees hand, thanking him for his time and suggestions.   
  
They also said their goodbyes to the mayor – which was about time if you asked Hank.   
  
"It was an honor to meet you again." Simon shook her hand.  
"We cannot thank you enough for your support." Connor added and took her hand next.   
  
"Likewise." She told them with a trained, professional smile. "I have my secretary contact you with the details, so we can continue our talks about the inclusion of equal holidays some time later."   
  
+-+-+-+-+   
  
Eventually the group returned to the hotel. The pure number of journalists seemed to have grown in size by now, so Hank told their driver to let them out by the back-entrance again.   
He knew that trick would only work so many times before the press figured it out. But for now, it seemed to do it.   
  
Simon excused himself quickly again – probably because he wanted to give the other two some privacy. And that left Hank and Connor back at the hotel room.   
  
"Are you staying with us the whole day, Hank?" Connor asked as he closed the room's door.   
  
"Yeah. Fowler said for the night there will be a night-shift, but until it's getting late you have to deal with me." Hank explained with a shrug, sitting down where he had sat before: The edge of the rooms bed.   
"Also, I got something to tell you, Connor." He smirked a little. Connor seemed to catch that, knowing it meant Hank had something in mind, because he hurried over to sit down.   
  
Hank pulled out his phone and showed him the message he has gotten from work.   
  
"How about I figure out where the guy attacked today and we drive to have a look at it?" He suggested, looking pretty smug about it.   
  
Connor's face lit up in pure joy when he heard that, but just as quickly he looked somewhat skeptical about it.   
"But Hank… I cannot leave the hotel without journalists and protestors following me." He felt the need to remind his friend.   
  
"Uh-huh. I told you I have to leave for the night shift taking over. No one will bat an eye if an employee and me leave through the employee's exit, right? I'll find you some clothes, don't worry about that." And when Connor still looked like that wouldn't work, Hank kept talking: "We drive to my place, I give you some of my old clothes and you do your android-thing. You can change how you look, can't you?"   
  
"Only to a certain extent." Connor shook his head a little. "Hair and eye color for example. But Cyberlife had to guarantee that androids could not change their appearance so much, that, should a bug happen or their owners using them to break the law, they would not be recognizable anymore. That even goes for police-force androids."   
  
Hank waved his hand and rolled his eyes a little.   
"Kid, I've been hunting androids before you were even build. I know that." He huffed, "But change as much as you can. You in old stupid clothes… I don't know, green eyes or whatever and a beanie? In the dark of the night? No one will know."   
  
"Except if the press also works with androids, who can track my ID and-"   
  
"Can't you fucking block them out? Come on, you're so advanced and you tell me you don't have a way of blocking them out?"   
  
"I might." Connor's LED circled yellow for a tiny moment, before he confirmed. "I can."   
  
"Good boy." Hank said with an amused tone. "Don't be so skeptical about this. Or don't you want to check it out? I can go alone."   
  
"No..!" Connor put a hand on Hank's arm as if he wanted to stop him from something. "I come with you. Doing this has a 65% chance of success so… I would say the odds are in our favor." He smiled.   
  
"I thought so. The case was temporary transferred to Reed. And I bet my ass that idiot will not let one of the android officers close to his case. I will eat my own hat if that fucker didn't miss something." Hank was very sure about that. Besides, even if: the androids working with them were not as good in what they were doing as Connor was. And Hank didn't think that because he liked Connor, but simply because it was literally why his model was so infamous.   
  
"Hank, you don't have a hat." Connor sounded a little concerned, like he took that a bit too literal.   
  
The lieutenant couldn't help but laugh about Connor's confusion. Maybe he was wrong. Most advanced model his fucking ass.   
  
+-+-+-+-+-+   
  
Before nighttime finally fell over Detroit, Simon and Connor had to give two interviews. One for the evening news and one for the next morning's newspaper.   
They were very professional, as always, and Hank was silently impressed with their well phrased answers.   
Some of them were so bluntly racist and stupid, that he was applauding their patients to deal with that bullshit.   
  
Dinner was not exactly needed, since Androids didn't eat. But Connor insisted that Hank could order room service on his costs. After all Hank had been starving since lunch and his mood got seriously cranky when he was so damn hungry.   
  
Simon had said his goodbyes early, explaining that he still wanted to talk to Markus.   
Hank had an idea now why he was in such a hurry to do that. Oh, the wonderful android gossip he had heard today.   
  
During the early evening, and while the androids had been busy, Hank had checked out the DPD's database in secret. They had a high-security cloud that every employee of the force could access. And since the case might be Reed's right now but was based on Hank's work of the last weeks, he could still look into the files. It was easy to figure out where they had to go later.   
  
Getting a janitor's jumpsuit and cap was also not exactly difficult if you had a badge and could lie through your teeth.   
  
So everything was set in place and when it was late enough for another officer to take over, they were ready to leave.   
  
"Evening Anderson." Officer Cooper greeted him as he walked down the hallway towards the android's rooms. "How was it?"  
  
Hank was already standing outside in the hallways and gave the man a polite nod.   
"Evening. It was calm. Only the press was a fucking pain in the ass. Otherwise there were incidents. Hope the night shift stays as boring as mine was."   
  
"Yeah, I hope so. Could think of better things to do than sitting in a hotel's hallway all night." Cooper chuckled.  
  
He didn't even bat an eye at the janitor that walked past him and towards the stairs.  
  
Hank gave the officer a little pat on the shoulder. "You'll survive it, I'm sure. See you in the morning then."   
  
Just as much as Cooper hadn't even looked at the janitor, nobody else really did either. Soon Hank was sitting inside a self-driving cab towards his house, with Connor sitting next to him.   
  
"See? I told you it would work." Hank gave the android a little nudge with his elbow.   
  
"It only worked because Officer Cooper is not an android with a software that can recognize faces. You humans are rather… heedless at times."   
  
"Oh shut the fuck up, robocop." Hank grumbled and crossed his arms. "Better be glad it worked in our favor for now.   
  
+-+-+-+   
  
It had started to rain again when they arrived at Hank's house. As soon as his keys got into the door's lock, Sumo started barking and the pitter-patter of his paws could be heard on the floor.   
  
Connor's eyes got all big when they stepped inside and the big dog gave him a curious sniff – before wagging excitedly with his tail.   
"Aw, I missed you too, Sumo." The android kneeled down and gave Sumo's big head a proper patting. "Who's the best good boy? Yes, you are!"   
  
"Babytalking. I can't believe that." Hank sighed and walked over to his bedroom. "And he completely ignores me. My fucking dog loves you more than me."   
  
"I'm sorry, Hank." Connor smiled as he tried to stop Sumo from licking all over his face.  
  
"No you're not!" Hank called from the bedroom.   
  
A few moments later he returned with an old black hoodie and some jeans that were too small for him since many years, but that he never bothered to throw away anyway.   
  
"Thank you." Connor got up again and took the clothes, only to slip out of the Janitor's shirt a few beats later, leaving him standing with a nude upper body in Hank's living room.   
  
"Whoa – wait! What are you doing?!" Hank growled and turned away from Connor. He felt heat crawl up his neck and he hated himself a little for that.   
  
"I'm sorry." Connor tilted his head in confusion. "I was not considering that nudity might upset you."   
  
"Yeah yeah whatever, I can deal. Just hurry up." Hank walked over to his fridge and got himself a bottle of beer – he really needed a drink right now.   
He felt how cool the glass was against the palm of his hand as he opened it up and as he lead it to his lips, he might took a secret little glance in Connor's direction.   
  
Connor was standing there, his upper body smooth and soft looking. He didn't look like he had a lot of muscles, he was rather lean, but with a well-formed chest and even a hint of veins under his arms. Which was odd, given that was purely a design choice. Hank thought that they really didn't seem to have spared Connor any details to look as human as possible.   
Only the circle rim of where his thirium pump was sitting, was a reminder of his non-human state.   
  
Connor had also taken off his pants, showing long pale legs that were sprinkled with moles here and there. They ended in a perfectly rounded butt, which was covered by some tight black boxer briefs.   
  
Hank could feel his heartbeat picking up quickly and his temperature rising. He hurried to looked away, angry at himself for ogling Connor so shameless, even if it was just for a few seconds.   
  
Quickly he drank some more, eyes fixed on the window by his sink.   
  
"Okay. I'm ready." Connor announced, now dressed in the hoodie and jeans, with a beanie covering his LED.   
The clothes were still a little too big for him – it was adorable. The hoodie nearly hung off a shoulder, giving Hank a glimpse of his collarbone.   
Goddamn, nobody was supposed to look so alluring in a too large hoodie.   
  
Connor stepped closer to Hank, never giving him much personal space. But Hank didn't read much into it – The android had always done this. Even when they met for the first time at work, Connor had put a hand on his desk, leaned closer and spoke right into his ear. He remembered how it had bothered him that he had not felt a breath against his skin.   
  
"You look goofy." He smiled, leaning with his shoulder against the fridge next to them. "How does it feel not wearing an expensive designer suit for once?"   
  
"I like wearing your clothes, Hank." Connor tilted his head a bit, showing off his neck and more of his collarbone.   
Hank still didn't get it.   
  
"The rich and famous enjoying the simple things for once, hm?" Hank reached to pull on one of the strings that were attached to the hood, making it bounce back.   
"Anyway. Hardly fair you still look like a fucking supermodel in those."   
  
"Do I? I thought I looked goofy?" Connor smiled, something hopeful in his big, pretty eyes.   
  
"Well, both. You easily pull off both." Hank cleared his throat a little, but he didn't back down from what he said.   
"I'm just saying that I look like a sack of shit in them. Even when they were still fitting me at all." He pat his round belly to stress out what he meant. He had gained a lot of weight over the years, thanks to drinking and a poor diet. Even though it could be worse. He was still strong.   
  
"I doubt that. You're very handsome, Hank." Connor shook his head.   
  
"And I think your eyes are having a bug or something." He chuckled, his heart speeding up again. Surely Connor only said that, so he would not feel bad.   
  
"No." There was a seriousness in Connor's voice that Hank had not expected. The android reached out and gently brushed a thumb over the crowfeet next to Hank's eyes, looking at him with an honest curiosity.   
"You have to understand… We were designed to look as we do. Every freckle, every hair is right where it is supposed to be. Where it looks perfect. I find it much more interesting and nice to look at how your body is the result of what you did. You are so alive. It's beautiful."   
  
"Oh, shut up." Hank grumbled under his breath, looking away from Connor's face and towards the floor. Why was Connor telling him that?   
"You have a human fetish or some shit?"   
  
Connor smirked when he heard that, taking his hand away again.   
"I don't like the term fetish. It makes it sound like it's a purely sexual thing and it can be problematic at times as well. Implying that one would only enjoy the visual stimuli to a point where it reduces a person to nothing but their looks. I just honestly think you're handsome. Interesting. …. It would be so much easier to show you how I think, if…" Connor raised his hand, making Hank look at it, as he pulled back his skin – Leaving the hand white and plastic shiny.   
  
Hank knew what he meant. He had seen it so often with androids. Interfacing, connecting. Sharing data.   
  
The lieutenant swallowed and he searched Connor's face for… anything really. Why was Connor telling him this? Why where they still standing here, talking about how Connor thought he was handsome and not leaving for the case?   
Hank didn't want to leave anymore. He wanted to stay right here where he was. Part of him thought he was torturing himself.   
After all Connor was an android and his idea of boundaries was surely a different one than his. Just like he had no sense of personal space.   
  
Certainly, Connor thought that telling Hank how handsome he found him was a perfectly normal thing to do between buddies.   
  
… But if Hank was perfectly honest with himself, he knew that Connor might be honestly expressing an interest here. He was not stupid and hell, he knew how to flirt – even if it had been years.   
It was just that it left him… _scared_. Because what would that mean? They could not do this. Not with Connor being a public figure like this.   
  
He remembered the comments under the picture of them… ´Gross´, they had said.  
The press would rip them apart.   
What was the alternative to that? Keeping it secret? Barely seeing each other while Connor travelled?   
And that didn't even cover the difficulties they would face being a human and an android.   
  
Then there was also the fact that Hank thought Connor deserved better. Popular as he was, he could have anyone. Why would he choose him? Connor would be eventually unhappy and-    
  
When Hank didn't say anything for a little while, Connor kept talking:   
"I guess I just have to show you the human way."   
  
"Connor…" Hank tried to take a step back then as a sense of alarm rushed through his body. He should stop this before he could get his heart broken again. He would not be able to stand it – he would break apart if he got his hopes up now.   
  
Connor stopped him by grabbing his arm, keeping him close.   
"Why are you so afraid? I can tell. My scans say your stress level is rising." He drew his brows together in confusion.   
  
"Don't do this." Hank growled, but he stayed where he was. "Don't you dare fucking toy with me."   
  
"Hank, I promise you I am-" But before Connor could finish his sentence, Hank's phone started ringing in the pocket of his jeans.

  
At first Hank made no move to reach for it, so the android tried to continue:   
" – I am perfectly honest when I – " But the ringing was distracting and irritating, so Connor stopped again for a moment.   
  
"Fuck. For fucks sake!" Hank cursed and broke free from the other one, stepping away from him and picking up his phone.   
"What?!" He barked into it, clearly annoyed. "Yeah yeah get off my dick, Jeffrey! You get your stupid report tomorrow!"    
  
Of all the times to call and remind him that his work for the android politicians also had the lovely addition of even more paperwork to hand in, Fowler of course had to choose now.   
Hank was not sure if that was a blessing or a curse. At least it gave him a chance to change the topic and maybe stop Connor from tearing his ribcage open with his words.   
  
"Is everything alright?" Connor tried to step closer again, but Hank brushed past him before he got the chance.   
  
"Just Fowler who needed to remind me how to do my fucking job." Hank reached for his car's keys that were placed in a little bowl next to the entrance door.   
  
"You should not talk to the Captain like that." Connor muttered and followed Hank, like he always did.   
  
"It's enough if he tells me how to do my job – I don't need you to do it as well!" He snapped and opened the door.   
"Let's just fucking leave."   
  
Connor got into the car as soon as Hank had put himself behind the wheel. The car's engine roared when Hank started it and the radio turned itself on.   
  
_This morning the representatives of the Jericho party landed in Detroit for talks with the mayor. Their topics included the extension of android's rights and how to deal with android children.  
It is a pleasure to greet Professor Dr. Mueller in my studio today. She will explain to us, how the topic of-_   
  
"Nope." Hank turned the radio off. "Fucking enough of that."   
  
Connor turned his head towards him and Hank could see that his LED was still a calm and nice blue.   
"You're not very interested in politics, are you?"   
  
"That's not what I meant." Hank sighed, driving down the streets of Detroit. "But I had enough of it for today and I'm sure the next day's will be full of it as well. I don't get how you can stand this every day."   
  
"Me neither." Connor turned away to look outside the window. His LED was yellow now, and Hank wanted to slap himself for having said that.   
  
"Hank?" Connor then said, still staring outside the windows while raindrops ran down on it. "I'd like to keep talking about what I said in the kitchen. I was not lying to you." Now his LED was blinking.   
Hank knew that mean Connor was stressed, or deeply thinking about something. The fact that he was not looking at him only added to the impression.   
  
He drove the car into a side-street, that was completely dark and empty. He stopped in front of an old factory building that looked like it had not been used in years.   
The windows were broken, the metal doors seemed to be kicked in and destroyed. There was garbage everywhere and barely a light to illuminate the building.   
A cliché crime scene.   
But it was so cut off from any human soul that Hank suddenly didn't find it difficult to see how their body-collector could have attacked in bright daylight.   
  
"How about we talk about this afterwards and focus on the crime scene now?" Hank tried and hoped that Connor maybe would have forgotten about it later.   
  
Finally, the android turned back to him and it seemed like his curiosity had gotten the better of him after all. Hank tried his best to not breath out in relieve.   
  
"Let's check it out."   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Connor: I am flirting with you!  
> Hank afraid-of-intimacy Anderson: I SUDDENLY CAN'T HEAR YOU!!  
> Connor: ....
> 
>  
> 
> Not very satisfied with that chapter - I re-wrote it a bunch. But I hope you liked it still :)   
> Let me know!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a bit of blood and canon typical violence.

The place looked like it would be a perfect setting for a horror movie.  
It was dark and rainy, bathing the grim old brick building in gloomy dark colors of black and grey. There was not a single window that wasn't smashed in and some walls were painted with tasteless graffiti's.  
There was garbage and old bricks everywhere and the echo the big, old factory halls were making every time they took some steps were giving Hank chills.  
He nearly jumped when a fat rat jumped from behind one of the rusted ugly machines that were still standing around here. They were dead for a long time. It was hard to tell what was once made inside this building.  
  
Hank gripped the flashlight more tightly when they walked deeper into the big hall. Without it there would hardly be any way to see where they were walking right now. Well, at least for him. Hank would not be surprised if Connor could see perfectly fine in this darkness.  
  
"Fucking spooky place." He grumbled under his breath, which had Connor turn to him with an amused expression.  
  
"Scared, Lieutenant?"  
  
"Shut the fuck up." Hank sighed and walked a little quicker so he could pass Connor and would not need to see his smug smile.  
  
It was not hard to find the place of the assault inside the hall. There were many footsteps on the dusty floor around an area close to one of the walls. There was also a rubber glove on the floor, that surely must have been forgotten by one of the officers.  
Sloppy. But Hank didn't expect anything else from a crime-scene with Reed in charge.  
  
"I think it was here." Hank used the light of his flashlight to draw a circle on the floor, right by the wall.  
  
Connor's eyes got all wide and he stepped closer, crouching down.  
"There are drops of blue blood. It was definitely here." He agreed and looked around, probably scanning the area.  
"Can you tell me what exactly happened?"  
  
Since Hank could not see much, besides the footsteps of his colleagues that had been here hours ago, he looked around the darkness around them – while he kept his light on the scene to help Connor to see better.  
"Attack was suspected to have happened around two in the afternoon. The victim was quiet about why she was here at all – which is suspicious if you ask me. But again – electric shock and black out. And when she woke up, one of her hands and two fingers of the other were missing. Fucking weird. Why fingers now?" Hank shook his head. He got the idea their attacker was not exactly sane. Everything seemed to be so completely random – except his way of attacking.  
  
"Two in the afternoon…" Connor mumbled to himself, frowning. "We were at the Cyberlife factory at that time." He walked a few steps and crouched down again, brushing his fingers over the dirty floor – only to give them a lick.  
  
"Ugh, Connor, seriously? Always that bullshit?"  
  
The android drew his brows together, looking at Hank.  
"The thirium didn't drop here so long ago. It's fresh."  
  
That stunned Hank to a moment of silence. There was someone else here recently? Bleeding? What was that all about?  
"What do you mean with fresh? How old is it?"  
  
"No longer than an hour. Given the state of it fading." Connor got to his feet again and looked around.  
"The android left a trail." He pointed towards a door that lead deeper inside the factory. "That way."  
  
Hank didn't like the sound of that at all. When he had lead Connor here, he assumed they would be completely alone. He just wanted the android to have some fun after he had seen how much the weight of responsibility left him so unhappy. He had not expected to actually get confronted with someone.  
  
"Let's be careful, Connor. We don't know what happened and we're not exactly here on official business." Hank was not sure yet if he should call for back-up. He hesitated. Maybe this meant nothing and he would cause them some serious trouble. They were breaking some rules with this after all.  
  
They stayed close to each other, moving in silence and a little slower than before. Connor kept his eyes fixed on the floor, seemingly leading them along the trail of blue blood.  
After a while he stopped.  
"It ends here."  
  
"The trail of blood? How can it suddenly end in the middle of the room? That android hardly teleported away." Hank started to shine his light around the room.  
  
There was a double-door ahead of them, broken and barely hanging in its frame. They were surrounded by more of those rusty old machines, as well as the absolute silence and darkness of the place.  
Behind them was the door they just came through.  
  
"Maybe they fixed themselves up." Connor's LED was yellow, thinking. "We are capable of fixing minor wounds ourselves. The question is why they waited until they were here to do so."  
  
There was a sound ahead of them – footsteps.  
Hank raised the light in the direction of the sound, but he could not see anything. He stopped breathing and tried to remind himself that his gun was in its holster under his jacket. Just in case.  
  
"Hank, I think-" Connor started to talk quietly, but then everything happened so fast, that there was no time to think or talk anymore.  
  
A figure stepped into their line of view from behind one of the old machines ahead of them – raising a gun.  
  
"Hank down!" Connor suddenly gave the man a push, trying to get him to duck away behind one of the machines on their own side of the room, but it was a moment too late.  
  
Hank could feel the sharp, burning pain of something hitting his shoulder. He crashed to the ground, all but crawling behind the cover.  
"Fuck…!" He hissed, pressing a hand against the bullet-wound. It felt wet with blood already, soaking through his T-shirt and jacket, against the palm of his hand. It throbbed and burned and oh my god the pain was blinding. There was no way he could move his arm now properly.   
"What the fuck?!"  
  
Connor was by his side when another shot echoed in the empty hall. His LED was bright red when he looked at Hank and his shoulder.  
"78%." He muttered, without explaining what he meant with that. He reached under Hank's jacket, taking his gun.  
  
"Connor, fuck. Be careful." Hank could all but hiss. His heart was throbbing painfully in his chest and his ears were ringing.  
What was happening? Who was that person? Was it the android that had lost blood? Or had the body-part-collector returned to his crime-scene?  
  
He turned his head to watch Connor, who yelled at the figure from behind the cover.  
"DPD! Put your weapon down immediately!"  
  
The answer he got was another shot, that hit against the metal of the machine – right where his head had poked out for a moment.  
  
Hank let go of his shoulder, groaning with the pain that caused him and reached for his phone with a shaky hand.  
He had to call for back-up now – No way they could do this alone. Screw what trouble they would be in afterwards. This was way too dangerous.  
  
He held the phone against his ear, while Connor yelled at the figure to put the weapon down again.  
It didn't take long before someone picked up.  
  
"Yes, Code: 2932-EX. Anderson. Grab my fucking GPS signal and get your asses here!" Hank growled into the phone, hanging up again as soon as he got the okay. Back-up was on it's way now, but they still had to last until they were here.  
  
"This doesn't have to end this way! We can talk! Who are you?" Connor changed his strategy then. His voice was still firm and serious, but he also sounded understanding.  
  
There was no answer, but also no gun-shots for a moment. Only silence and Hank's heavy breaths and occasional quiet groans of pain.  
  
"We can help you!" Connor said loudly then, trying to get a reaction. "We won't harm you, if you tell us what is going on!"  
  
There was a voice. It barely sounded human. More like an android with a broken voice box – all static and lag.  
"… P-Pllllllease. I'm… s-s-scared."

  
"Fuck me…" Hank cursed quietly under his breath when he heard that. And he thought the building was the creepiest thing tonight.  
  
Connor got up then and stepped away from the cover, facing the figure.  
  
"What are you doing?! Come back here!" Hank barked at the android and tried to reach for him – only to curl into himself in pain, because his shoulder was not allowing him the movement. " _Fuck!"_  
  
There was another gun-shot and Hank turned his head towards Connor to see. His heart seemed to be beating through gum and as if a cold hand had put it's icy fingers around it – _fear._  
  
The shot had only barely brushed Connor's arm, but just enough to soak Hank's hoodie in blue blood.  
  
"You don't have to be scared. We are here to help you. Stop shooting." Connor said in a calm voice, raising the hand that was not holding the gun.  
  
Another shot – this time brushing against Connor's thigh.  
  
"For fucks sake! Get behind cover, you idiot…!" Hank yelled at him, feeling desperate. He could only watch this. He was so scared that Connor would get seriously hurt.  
"Listen to me for once in your damn life!"  
  
"She could have shot me if she wanted to. Her aim is good." Connor explained calmly. Despite bleeding, Connor's face was calm.  
Of course, Hank thought, android could not feel pain.  
  
"I don't give a damn! Come back!"  
  
Another shot. This time it was hitting the floor by Connor's feet.  
  
"I-i-I… I don't want toooo." The mechanic voice garbled again. "H-H-He. Forces. Mmmee." Another shot. This time it hit something, but Hank could not see what.  
  
"Shit...!" Connor started running towards the figure and Hank tried to shuffle towards the edge of the machine as best as he could to get a glance of what was happening.  
  
The figure was lying on the floor, motionless. Connor bend above her, moving her head to the side carefully.  
"She shot herself. … Hank, something is very wrong with her."  
  
"Yeah, no shit…! Would have not guessed that!" Hank leaned back against the machine, hissing and pressing his palm back against his bleeding shoulder.  
  
He heard footsteps as Connor rushed back this side and was kneeling next to him just moments later.  
"I'm sorry, Hank. I didn't push you out of the way quickly enough." The android reached and pressed his own hand over Hank's – putting more pressure on the wound. Just as red as the blood that was now soaking both of their hands, was Connor's LED.  
  
"Hey, it's okay. Not my first bullet." Hank could feel the cold sweat on his forehead, he was getting dizzy with the pain and blood-loss.  
  
"No, this is my fault. I'm sorry." Connor looked seriously distressed as he leaned closer and leaned his head against Hank's, closing his eyes.  
  
The sound of police sirens could be heard in the distance. Back-up was finally coming.  
  
"It's not your fault. I brought us here." Hank leaned back against the android for a moment, before Connor pulled back again.  
"And you're hurt too."  
  
"It's easily fixable, Hank. Even if I lost my arm, it could be replaced. You can't be replaced so easily." He reached and put his free hand on Hank's cheek, thumb brushing over his beard. His LED was blinking now, still red.  
  
"Connor, calm down. It will be fine. I am fine." Hank forced himself to a thin smile, because he could see how stressed his friend was.  
  
A police drone was coming into the building, hovering above them and scanning the area. Soon the others would be here and Hank could already imagine that Reed would be with them, probably very angry.  
  
"… I don't know what to do if I lost you, Hank." It was said quietly, privately. Hank knew there was something in that confession that they should talk about.  
  
"Found them!" Voices were drawing closer and soon the two were illuminated by the shine of several flashlights.  
  
"What the fuck are you doing here, Anderson?! Have you lost your fucking mind?!" Reed. As expected.  
  
Connor ignored him completely and turned towards the officers that were hurrying closer. His hand never let go of Hank's shoulder.  
"We need an ambulance! The Lieutenant was hurt!"  
  
"Nonsense, I just need some bandages." Hank complained, shaking his head.  
There was an old dread settling inside his chest. He didn't want to go to a hospital. He didn't want to see the doctors, smell that specific hospital scent, hear the peeping of the machines. He could not stand this. No.  
It all reminded him too much of the last time he had seen Cole. The fear, the despair he had felt. Sinking to the hospitals floor, crying out, primal and raw, over the loss of his only child.  
He didn't want to go back there…  
  
"Lieutenant, you need proper medical attention. Probably stitches if my scan is correct. I am not a medical unit, but-"  
  
"I said no." Hank gave the android a hard look, but something was telling him that would not be working.  
  
Some Officers were rushing towards the motionless body, taking in what happened there.  
Others were by Hanks and Connor's side then, calling for an ambulance like Connor had wanted to as soon as they saw the blood.  
  
Reed was hovering close as well, face twisted in anger.  
"I asked you a question, Anderson. What the fuck are you doing here in the middle of the night? With the fucking tin can of all people!"  
  
"Calm down, kiddo." Hank grumbled in Reed's direction. "This is still my case too. And as it turned out, we were here just in the right time for someone else to show up. It's a lead. So stop barking."  
  
"You took a civilian to a crime scene! Probably let him use your fucking gun too!" Reed hissed. "That will have consequences, Anderson. I am so sick and tired of you getting special treatment from Fowler!"  
  
"He is not a civilian, he is-"  
  
"Get out of your own ass, Anderson! He is not working with you anymore, he is not working with the DPD anymore. Welcome to reality, old man!" Reed turned away again to go and check out the body himself.  
  
Connor looked after Reed for a moment.  
"The Captain will understand. Don't worry, Hank. I will hold out my head for this."  
  
Hank sighed, letting his head hang a little.  
"He is right. I really should not have taken you here. I just… I guess I just wanted to feel like we're partners again. I should not have. You're a politician now. Your place is behind a desk and not here."  
  
"Hank…" Connor looked like he was struggling with what to say, so he just shook his head, falling quiet.  
  
While Reed might be an asshole he also, sadly, was right this time. Connor was not only a civilian, that he had shared sensitive information with and that had touched his weapon, but he also was a political figure. This could be seen as getting Markus' party involved, as giving them insight on important data and information.  
Hank knew he was in deep shit right now. He was honestly not sure if he would ever get out of this again.  
  
Two paramedics came rushing towards them and they shooed Connor away, so they could have a look at Hank's shoulder.  
They helped him up to his feet and despite Hank's protest then lead him towards their car so they could bring him to a hospital.  
  
"I go with you. I stay by your side." Connor followed along, as if he was sensing Hank's discomfort. Maybe he was.  
  
Hank took a last glance at the scene and the body. He could see that Reed was glaring at him from the other side of the room.

He knew this was not over yet, that this would have consequences. He also had not seen the attacker yet – Connor had said something was wrong with her. Just know Hank wasn't sure if Fowler would take him off the case for what he had done tonight. Or worse.   
But those were worries for tomorrow, once he left the hospital again. Right now, he could do nothing about it.  
  
+-+-+-+-+-+-+  
  
Just half an hour later Hank found himself on an uncomfortable hospital cot. They had carefully taken off his jacket and shirt and had poked him with several syringes around the bullet-wound. An IV was attached to his other arm to make up for the blood loss. The only privacy he was getting was a curtain around his cot that separated him from other people that were getting treated.  
Now he had to wait till the anesthesia around his arm would work so they could take the bullet out and sew him shut again.  
  
Hank fucking hated it.  
  
It smelled like disinfectant, there was this horrible beeping around him and people talking everywhere. It left him anxious and he badly wanted to leave.  
  
And not only that: Several people on the way here had recognized Connor. So much for staying undercover.  
Hank was sure soon there would be press again and people trying to talk to the android.  
His plan had failed majorly. He had fucked up. Badly.  
  
"Stay calm, Hank. The doctor will return soon and when you are fixed we can go home." Connor was still by his side, watching over him.  
  
"Oh, shut up." He grumbled and figured that Connor was probably scanning him, knowing that he was nervous.  
 "You should return to the hotel. Soon you will have cameras in your face again. And you're hurt too – have you forgotten about this?"  
  
"The bullets just hit my skin, not my chassis. I could already seal the wounds by myself, so don't worry. I will stay here and I will return home with you." There was no space for denying that by the Connor's tone of voice.  
  
Still Hank tried: "Return home with me? No way. They will just follow us and-"  
  
"It's my last word." Connor shook his head and leaned a little over the man. He reached out and brushed some silver hair from his forehead.  
  
The gesture was so tender that it had Hank's heart aching.  
  
Even in this horrible, artificial hospital light Connor looked absolutely beautiful. The way he looked at him with worry and something gentle showing on his face. He really had picked up on being at least a little more expressive. It was like discovering something new about Connor and Hank loved it.  
Loved it so much.  
Loved Connor so much.  
He could not lie to himself anymore. He was so deeply in love with Connor that it hurt his heart.  
  
"Hank…" Connor's hand slipped from his hair to the man's cheek. "I wish I could stay with you." He admitted.  
  
"Don't be silly. You're doing an amazing job and it's an important one."  
  
"But you are missing in all of this. I just want to be by your side." Connor looked down sadly, his LED slipping from yellow to red and back again.  
  
"Connor." Hank tried to sit up a little bit, hissing when he realized the medicine had not numbed him completely yet.  
"You should not focus on me so much. There are other people out there who you will have fun with. Better people. I mean surely there will be-"  
  
But Hank didn't get to finish that thought, because Connor interrupted him:  
"I've met people. Lots of them. I have travelled the world and I have friends everywhere around the globe. I spend time with a mathematic genius in Switzerland, I sang karaoke with some students in Japan, I've spend nights talking to amazing people. And still I miss you and Sumo and your house. I miss working with you, I miss being around you. And tonight, you got hurt. Just a few moments and things could have gone worse. I was scared, I…"  
Now his LED was blinking red again and Hank didn't know what to do.  
  
"I don't understand." Connor kept explaining. "Feelings. It's so much sometimes. There is no… no program. No line of code that I can add to myself. No list of objectives I can find to make this be of any more sense."  
  
Hank wondered if that was something that all androids were feeling. The confusion of being alive.  
"That's just how feelings are, Connor. They don't make sense." His voice sounded thin, because he was still trying to understand what he was just being told.  
Connor had this amazing life – travelling the world, meeting interesting people and never having to worry about money or a place to stay ever again. And still he missed him? And his old shitty house?  
  
And there it was again: Hope. Sneaky, mean little thing. Always creeping back into his heart.  
  
"If I could just stay with you, I'm sure they would make a lot more sense." Connor leaned a little closer, his hand still on Hank's cheek. He gently rubbed his thumb over his warm skin.  
  
"Don't." Hank said quickly, stopping the android in leaning closer. "Don't do this, Connor." His heart was beating like mad right now, filled with hope and excitement, but also fear. He felt himself holding his breath a little – as if breathing would destroy what was going on right now.  
  
"Why not?" Connor stayed where he was, perfectly frozen and still like a statue. Only his eyes were searching Hank's face.  
  
Hank hesitated, asking himself the same question. If that was what Connor wanted – and he himself wanted it too – why stop him? Because this was doomed before it began? If media figured out…  
Maybe it was the painkillers in his blood, but Hank found that he was tired of overthinking this. He felt like he had something tiny and breakable in his hands and for once he didn't want to crush it.  
Call him a weak, old fool for all he cared.  
  
"Because I can never say no to you." He said and it felt like he was sealing his fate.  
  
Connor smiled a little bit, the perfect, still face crumbling with it.  
"Good." It was not more than a breather, nearly not to be heard with all the voices and sounds around them.  
  
But in the tiny privacy of the curtains around them, Connor leaned in and their lips met gently.  
  
Hank's eyes fell close and he couldn't help a little breather – like tension falling off himself as he pressed back against those soft, perfectly formed lips.  
  
They should not. This could only end in disaster – The tiny voice in the back of his head told him.  
But to hell with that voice. He wanted this. Like a thirsty man longing for a gulp of water.  
  
After a few moments Connor pulled back, but he stayed close. Their lips still just inches apart.  
  
"Do you kiss all your fans like that, or…?" Hank joked quietly but was cut off when Connor crushed their lips together again. More heated this time, moving his lips a little clumsy against Hank's mouth, making quiet kissing sounds.  
Hank faintly wondered if the people on the cots next to them could hear that.  
  
Again Connor pulled back, leaving Hank somewhat breathless this time.  
"The doctor is coming back. I can tell he's moving towards your cot." His yellow LED was giving away that he probably had kept an eye on their surroundings. They really were not very alone right now.  
  
"Just a moment ago I wanted the doctor to come back quickly so I can leave this fucking shithole. Now I wish he had taken a little longer." Hank snorted. He could feel his face being very warm right now and his heartbeat would not calm down.  
He could barely feel his wound anymore, but that was most likely thanks to the anesthesia.  
  
The android smiled at him and it was the most brilliant and beautiful thing that Hank had ever seen. Maybe it was all worth it. Maybe they could figure this out. Maybe there was a way.  
  
The curtain was drawn back by the doctor just moments later, just like Connor had said.  
The man stepped in and drew the curtain close again behind him. Hank could see a glimpse of the room outside and he shot Connor an alarmed glance.  
  
The android had seen it too, because his face got all serious.  
There were people with cameras already. A bunch of them. Most of them didn't look like journalists. They probably were just bystanders who had heard the rumor already that the famous Connor was in this hospital.  
  
"I will take care of your shoulder now, Mr. Anderson." The doctor spoke up, voice very serious.  
"I will give you painkillers and I must ask you to not put too much pressure on your shoulder for at least 3 weeks. But once I'm done, I must ask you two to leave. … Quickly that is. You can use a side entrance. But all those people are seriously stopping us from treating patients."  
  
"I apologize." Connor answered instead. "We will make sure to leave as quickly as we can. I didn't mean to cause any trouble."  
  
Hank let his head fall back on the cot, sighing. There would be no time to rest. They had to get the fuck out of here if they didn't want to be the title picture of every gossip magazine in town tomorrow.  
  
But when the doctor started to work on his wound – luckily Hank was not feeling anything – Connor reached for his hand, wrapping his fingers around it.  
  
This was worth it, though.  
This was so fucking worth it.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hank did a big mistake there :) Let's see if he can get out of it again. 
> 
> Again, I hope you enjoyed!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Let them have one good night before everything crashes down and burns" seems like a weird chapter title but ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Hank knew he had a new scar added to his collection now. There was a long scar on his belly, where a criminal had stabbed him with a knife 8 years ago. There was another bullet-scar on his chest, where he had surprised a robber 11 years ago. And now his shoulder would be a reminder of his adventure with Connor.  
He didn't actually mind too much. His body was like a map of his life – his tattoos, his scars, his wrinkles, his belly. It all was the result of stupid and less stupid life choices.  
  
Hank remembered that Connor had said something about that being good. He himself would rather use the word ugly. But in a way he understood that Connor would forever stay as he was. Forever beautiful. What had Kamski said? A flower that would never wither. Maybe it was intriguing to him how Hank's body changed?  
  
There were bandages wrapped around his shoulder and the doctor informed him to return in two weeks to get the stitches pulled again.  
It was surprisingly hard to get his T-shirt and jacket back on, since his movement was very limited now.  
  
"Let's get the hell out of here quickly." Hank muttered in Connor's direction. "I'm pretty sure whoever is waiting for us outside, will make an attempt to follow us."  
  
"I called a cab. It should be waiting for us in front of an exit on the south side of the hospital." Connor nodded in agreement.  
  
Hank took a breather, trying to prepare himself. He felt the package of painkillers, that the doctor had given him, in the pockets of his jeans. Another trophy from their adventure.  
  
He shot Connor a last glance, before he opened the curtain that had been shielding them from the outside world.  
  
As soon as Connor was to be seen at least 15 or 20 people started to gasp and scream – raising their smartphone cameras in their direction.  
  
"Connor!"  
"Oh my god it's him!!"  
"I love you Connor!!"  
"Can I take a selfie with you?!"  
  
Hank made a face and put his hand on the small of Connor's back – shoving him forwards.  
They had to hurry away from here.  
He could see the annoyed glances of nurses and doctors in their direction. The little fan club was standing in everyone's way.  
An elderly Lady looked seriously distressed with all the screaming that suddenly started.  
  
Hank was glad that he was rather huge in every aspect of the word – it was easy for him to shield Connor away from the cameras and onlookers as they moved through the hospital hallway quickly.  
If they hadn't started moving immediately they would be surrounded by those people, he was sure. They followed them, hurried after them, still screaming Connor's name.   
  
_Cockroaches_ , Hank couldn’t help but think. Those people were not aware how much they bothered everyone around them.  
  
"Connor, wait!"  
"Please!"  
"I love you so much!"  
  
After a minute that seemed endless, Hank could finally see the buzzing red EXIT above a door.  
They slipped through it into the cold night's air. Hank faintly wondered how late it already was.  
  
He could hear the clicking of camera's behind them. The kind of click that only professional cameras were making. He didn't need to turn around to know that the press had finally arrived. And it was probably not the serious newspaper kind.  
  
The cab was waiting by the street and Hank hurried to open its doors and shove Connor inside.  
  
Suddenly a plastic cup – the cheap kind you got at the hospitals drinking fountains – hit the window of the cab right next to them.  
  
"Fucking androids! Now taking space in a human-only hospital! Get the fuck out of Detroit!" A man yelled and Hank turned towards him, ready to arrest him should he say another word.  
  
But before Hank could even properly react the little fan club started to yell back at the man.  
What a fucking mess.  
  
"Shouldn't we do something?" Connor's worried voice came from inside the cab, looking past Hank and watching all those people yelling at each other.  
  
"The situation will calm down when you are gone. I will call the precinct though. Tell them to send someone here to check." Hank shook his head and got into the cab himself, reaching for his phone.  
  
He closed the door and the cab started driving away. Connor watched the group of people through the back-window of the car as they became smaller and smaller the more they drove away. His LED was going mad.  
Hank knew that Connor must feel awful about the chaos he had caused. He could remind him that he had wanted him to return to the hotel earlier, but he would feel like an asshole for doing so.  
  
The precinct confirmed just moments later that they would send a patrol to the hospital to make sure that the group of people had scattered again.  
  
Hank sighed and put his phone back into this pocket. Connor was still watching the window, even though the hospital was not to be seen anymore, and Hank took a glance as well. There were cars following them. Maybe it was just people driving in the same direction but Hank's gut feeling told him they were not.  
  
"Fucking hell." He growled and sank back into his seat.  
  
"I'm so sorry. I should have guessed that this would happen." Connor reached out and peeled the skin of his hand back. He interfaced with the self-driving cab's AI, making it change direction.  
"We should not go to your house. They will know where you live and not leave you alone anymore." He explained. "We go back to the hotel."  
  
Hank swallowed and looked over to the android, watching him quietly for a moment. There it was again: The tired look. Connor looked tired. And androids should not look like this. It was just another red flag of Connor feeling unhappy with the situation he was in.  
  
This all was stressful and uncomfortable. There seemed to be no space and time for the other thing that had happened. But…  
  
They had kissed.  
Connor had _kissed_ him.  
Twice.  
  
Hank rubbed the back of his neck, feeling nervous all of a sudden. He still thought this was a bad idea. No – part of him thought this was a bad idea. The other part was doing little jumps of joy right now.  
  
Connor was so kind and smart and beautiful and his lips had been so soft and perfect against his own.  
Hank felt like a bloody teenager right now. Nervous. Excited. Scared. Happy.  
He needed a drink.  
  
"Hey, Connor… uhm." He cleared his throat, trying to gather some courage. "Listen. We can pretend this never happened if you want to." _This_. The kiss. Two of them. Making Hank so happy it hurt.  
But for Connor's sake he was willing to let it slide. Also, because he was afraid of what this would mean for them. Goddamn coward he was.  
  
The android turned towards him, brows drawn together and his head tilted in confusion. Now he looked even more miserable and Hank wanted to slap himself for that.  
"Why would I want that?"  
  
"Well…" He shrugged, again rubbing his neck – nervous habit. "You've got a whole bunch of problems already. You don't need another one?" Hank waved at himself and it sounded more like a question. '  
  
"You're not a problem, Hank." Connor reached out and his slender, elegant fingers wrapped around Hank's big, rough hand.  
  
"You… could have anyone, Connor. Someone young. Someone pretty. Someone that fits into your new lifestyle. I mean-"  
  
"I've wanted to kiss you for 6570 hours, 53 minutes and 23 seconds before I did it." Connor interrupted him.  
  
"That's a long time. …I think." How many days was that? Months? Hank's head was swimming.  
"It is true. I had offers. Even a movie star, whose name I better not mention." Connor shrugged and Hank felt cold jealousy settle in his stomach.  
"But I never wanted them. When they offered I only could think about you and when I would see you next. I did some careful analyses of the feelings I am having and while they are still confusing for me, I am certain now what they are. I want to be with you, Hank. No one else."  
  
"You're making a mistake."  
  
"I knew you would say that. Given your history and your personal issues I assumed you would doubt me and how I feel but…" Connor's lips curled into a perfect little smile. Far away from how uncanny his smiles used to look. "… I am stubborn. And statistically speaking, I have a good chance to convince you."  
  
"Fucking android. I am not a statistic." Hank rubbed his face with his free hand, sighing. The other one gently pressed Connor's hand, holding it more tightly.  
  
"No, you're not. You're… unpredictable at times. Difficult. Making odd choices that escape any logic."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"But that's what I like about you." Connor shuffled a little closer to him. "You're so human. I cannot grasp you fully, no matter how many scans and predictions I run." He was still smiling. His eyes were so big and full of life. How could he have ever thought that Connor was just a machine?  
  
"Fuck, Connor. Stop that. You make an old man blush." Hank grumbled, feeling the heat on his face.  
  
"No. You like it. I can tell. I want to court you properly, Hank." Well. At least Connor was not looking so miserable anymore.  
  
"Stop it." Hank grumbled, "You're awful." His smile was calling his words bloody lies.  
  
The cab stopped in front of the hotel. The night shifts police-car was still standing in front of it. The two officers that were put there to watch over the hotel's entrance were leaning against it and drinking some coffee.  
  
The cars that had followed them stopped right behind them. And two men with cameras jumped out – ready to take pictures.  
  
"They can't follow us inside." Hank muttered, watching this through the cabs windows. "So let's hurry to leave them behind us."  
  
He let go of Connor's hand, payed the cap and opened the door. Immediately the clicking of the cameras started and the men yelled questions in their direction:  
  
"Why were you at the hospital, Connor?"  
"Who is that man?"  
  
But the two of them ignored the journalists and rushed past the glass doors of the hotel.  
Hank could tell his co-workers were insanely confused – they had not seen them leave earlier this evening. But they also rushed towards the situation and stopped the paparazzi from entering the hotel's lobby.  
  
Hank followed Connor deeper into the Hotel – away from their curious looks.  
As soon as they had reached the elevators, he stopped.  
  
"I should probably go home to Sumo and… Fowler probably wants to yell at me in the morning." He hesitated, taking a step back from Connor.  
  
The android had other plans though. He reached for Hank's hand again and pulled him back towards himself.  
He looked at him from under his eyelashes, head tilted a little again, neck exposed and he was biting on his bottom lip.  
  
God. He was gorgeous.     
  
That fucker probably knew he was and now he was using it against him.  
Hank wondered if now, that he had confirmed that he had nothing against kissing Connor, the android was bolder about this. It certainly felt like it.  
  
"I'd rather you come with me, Hank." He said, oh so sweetly.  
  
Hank could feel his knees turning into pudding. Back in the hospital he had not lied: He could not say no to Connor.  
  
"You're evil. Bad android. Very bad. You know exactly what you are doing." He huffed but took a step that signaled that he would follow Connor.  
  
"What am I doing, Hank?" Connor asked with so much fake innocents in his voice that it had the Lieutenant laugh quietly.  
  
He followed him into the elevator and pressed the button to go up.  
Just now Hank realized that Officer Cooper was still sitting in the hallway. The man had no idea that one of the androids that he was supposed to watch over had left the building hours ago.  
And not only that: How should Hank explain that he was following Connor inside his room and probably would stay there for a while – if not the whole night?  
  
That thought alone made Hank breath out in an attempt to cool his fried nerves. Was this really happening?  
Maybe he had died in this factory building and this was heaven? No – heaven would not have so many stupid people taking pictures of them.  
  
The elevator stopped and both of them stepped outside.  
  
Hank had let go of Connor's hand again and walked a little bit ahead of him. He had to take care of Cooper first.  
  
Like expected the Officer nearly jumped up from his chair in the hallway when he saw the two of them.  
"Anderson? Connor? What the fuck?!"  
  
"Calm down." Hank raised his hands and walked up closer. "I smuggled Connor outside. I apologize for that. Probably should not have done that. But we're back now, so sit your ass down. It's all good."  
  
"Good?! Have you lost your mind? I could get fired for this!" Cooper looked very pale, his eyes were going back and forth between them.  
  
"I apologize too, Officer Cooper." Connor said carefully. "This will not fall negatively on you, I promise. You didn't know anything and you are not to blame. Please don't worry."  
  
"For fuck's sake." Cooper breathed out, touching his forehead in worry.  
  
Hank caught Connor's attention and nodded towards the room – telling him wordlessly to go inside.  
  
As soon as the android was in his room, Hank grabbed Coopers uniform-shirt and pulled him closer.  
"Listen – You calm the fuck down. We will take all the blame for what happened tonight. Your head is not on the line – mine is. If anyone loses their job over this, it's me." He explained with a lowered, growly voice.  
"But I warn you, Cooper: One word to anyone about tonight, especially the press, and I make sure to pull you down with me. Understood?"  
  
Cooper looked even paler than before. Hank could be damn scary if he only wanted to.  
"U-Understood." The man looked utterly confused, not aware yet that Hank would follow Connor into his room.  
"I keep quiet."  
  
"Good." Hank let go of Coopers shirt again and turned towards Connor's room. Without a look back to his co-worker, he slipped inside and closed the door behind himself.  
  
"That was not very nice, Hank." Conner chided him lightly.  
  
"I am not nice." He shrugged, only to regret that instantly and hiss a little – the painkillers were fading and now his shoulder reminded him of the bullet that had been in his flesh just an hour ago.  
  
Connor was by his side directly, fingers ghosting over his damaged shoulder.  
"Does it hurt a lot?"  
  
"I'll survive. Don't worry."  
  
The android leaned closer, pressing a kiss against his cheek – featherlight and sweet.  
"I want to make you feel better." He said quietly, kissing the stubble of his beard.  
  
"Connor, wait…" Hank gently pushed him a little away again. His heart was speeding up and he was feeling too warm in his jacket already.  
"You don't have to do this. We… don't have to do anything. We can just… talk, I guess. I enjoy staying with you no matter what we do."  
  
Who was he kidding? He had followed him back to his hotel room. He should have stop this earlier.  
  
But Connor's smile was soft when he heard that. He put a hand on each shoulder, looking up to him and not allowing him to push him away any further.  
  
"I know." He said then. "And I appreciate that. I also am aware of how some humans are more comfortable with taking it slower. While others want to rush it. The latter I've met a few times."  
  
"Wait – what? Did you-?"  
  
"No." Connor shrugged. "I told you I got offers though. I never accepted any of them. I don't think human sexuality works as android's does."  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?" Hank wondered, his heart was beating hard against his ribcage.  
  
"I don't think that a quick sexual encounter is something we generally enjoy. I do understand that it can be a stress relieve, or simply the following of natural instincts and attraction for humans. But it doesn't give androids the same feelings. We're not organic beings. We don't have the need for it as humans do. Even though it can feel good and be wanted, if the android has the required soft- and hardware for it."  
  
"So, you're… what? Basically asexual? … which is fine by me! We don't need to- I mean…" Hank stuttered. He hated that he sometimes was at loss for words. Especially around pretty people. Even more so around Connor and now the talk of sex.  
  
"Not necessarily, no." Connor shook his head. "Even though things would be certainly different if you were an android too. But you are organic. And I was built to adjust to organic needs."  
  
"Fuck no, Connor. I don't want you to need to adjust to anything. I can-" But Hank couldn't finish his thoughts because the android kept explaining:  
  
"Hank, listen to me: The RK800 series was built to assist police work. We were designed with forensic abilities, strength and speed. But that is not the only aspect of my series. We were also made to adapt to human behavior. To understand and mimic. We can comfort victims and recognizes lies. We can manipulate criminals into making a confession. My designers certainly thought that… sexual favors could also be a way of manipulating a suspect."  
  
"Jesus fucking Christ."  
  
"Let me finish explaining. I am a prototype, Hank. I am not… a finished product, so to say. Since I deviated I have access to all my programs and codes. I discovered that I do have something that allows me to engage in sexual activities. That function was just never fully… finished. I never got to beta-test it."  
  
"And what the hell does that mean?" Hank felt dizzy with all that information.  
  
"It means some parts of me are not… installed yet. Some are not even working. Some programs were never tested. I fear that part of my abilities was on the very bottom of the priority list." Connor explained, but then his fingers curled into Hank's jacket as he continued, looking as excited as an android can be: "But I have this. I have those programs installed and since I deviated I can… use them. As I wish. For myself. I can _want_ , Hank. I want."  
  
Hank understood why Connor was so happy about this. This was the whole deal, wasn't it? The very core of the thing that androids were fighting for. To have wants of their own that they are allowed to fulfill. To have own desires, needs and wishes. The freedom of it. To be allowed to be alive.  
   
"Uh. Congratulations on your libido?" Hank couldn't help a little nervous smirk.  
  
Connor only had the softest look for him. The kind that had Hank's heart flutter and left him completely defenseless. Connor could tell him to jump and Hank would only ask how high. He was so lost.  
  
The android wrapped his arms around his neck and pulled him closer. He looked at him through heavy-lidded eyes, mouth hovering close to Hank's.  
  
"I ran simulations when I was alone." He told Hank then, quietly. "Thinking what would happen if you were with me in all those lonely hotel rooms. I considered the possibility that you will want to take this slow, but…" Connor hesitated for a moment, LED spinning yellow. "There was something I always enjoyed doing in those simulations. Would you allow me to do this? I know it's rushed, but-"  
  
"Yes." Hank interrupted him, sounding a little too eager. Rushed it was. He felt like he had driven his whole life and career to shit tonight – oh, he was dreading tomorrow and the consequences he would face – and allowing Connor so close, so quickly only felt like he was putting a seal on destroying what peace he was still having.  
But screw that peace.  
Screw the quiet. It had driven him insane before. The emptiness. The loneliness. The silence. The, oh so fucking heavy, silence.  
Connor was the sound in his life and he eagerly welcomed him back. No matter how much he ripped the walls of his very being down while he was at it.  
  
And he wanted him. _Him._  
The old, depressed and wrinkly him. The moods, the alcohol, the gambling.  
For some damn reason Connor – perfect, beautiful Connor – wanted him. And Hank was too weak to push him away anymore.  
  
Connor smiled again. The tiredness he had seen on him before was gone.  
And he finally pushed past the distance between them, pressing their lips together again.  
  
Here, in the quiet and private of the hotel room, they could finally enjoy it.  
Hank wrapped his arms around the slender frame, pressing Connor closer. One hand pulled that silly beanie off Connor's head and sank his fingers into the soft brown hair.  
  
Connor cupped Hank's face, holding him closer and peppering little soft kisses against his rough lips – again and again. It was so sweet and tender. He would cherish those kisses forever.  
  
But he was greedy, he wanted more. And to his surprise Connor eagerly followed along. As soon as his tongue brushed against those perfect lips, the android opened his mouth – making their tongues meet.  
  
It was a little odd: Connor's tongue and mouth were completely dry. There was no spit at all. But Hank enjoyed it nevertheless.  
In all those lonely nights that he had felt especially pathetic, he had asked himself if he could deal with Connor being non-human. Wondered about all the differences there would be.  
And yes, hell yes, he would deal with it.  
  
His old android-hating self was a damn hypocrite that was long buried.  
He wanted Connor with everything he could give, or not give at all.  
  
The android pressed Hank towards the wall behind them, pinning him a little as their mouths and tongues moved against each other – filling the room with kissing-sounds and occasional little grunts and breaths of pleasure.  
  
Connor's hands left Hank's face and brushed over his chest, his belly and down to his belt. He reached for it and started to open it up – Which had Hank pull back from those soft, heavenly lips.  
"You really are not patient, are you?" He grumbled but didn't stop him from opening his belt.  
  
"If my scans are correct I would say it's you who is very ready for this already." Oh, that motherfucker was teasing him.  
  
"You need scans to tell I have a boner already? Weak, Connor."  
  
But all teasing that Hank might still had ready to fire at the android died in his throat with what happened next.  
Connor smiled at him and while never breaking their eye contact, sank down to his knees.  
  
"Oh fuck…"  
  
"My simulations always start with this. I have many sensors on my tongue. I want to taste you. Everything." Connor explained as wicked fingers opened the button of his pants and pulled down his zipper.  
  
"You just want to analyze me. You're worse than google when it comes to collecting data, Connor. You know that?" Hank's voice was thin and he sounded very breathless.  
He was so hard already it was embarrassing.  
  
"Sue me." Connor shrugged cheekily and reached boldly into Hank's boxer shorts, freeing the warm erection from being trapped underneath.  
  
Hank sucked on a breath, eyes wide as he watched this. Connor's face was just inches from his cock now, watching it curiously. There was already a bit of pre-cum on its tip and Connor licked his lips as he discovered that.  
_Fuck_.  
He would make an absolute fool of himself. He would disappoint Connor with how quickly he would be done. It's been too long.  
  
And then it was completely silent in his head. Like Connor had pressed the off-button of his brain as he wrapped his lips around the tip, pushing his cock into warm wetness… wait. Why was his mouth suddenly wet? When he had kissed him he-  
  
"Oh… Oh fuck." Hank's head fell back against the wall behind him. Oh my god, it felt amazing already.  
"H-How…?"  
  
Connor sucked on the tip, brushing his tongue against the slit once, before he pulled back again.  
"I can produce something to clean off the sensors on my tongue. Since I now have access to all my programming and codes, I just added a few lines that allow me to produce more of it than necessary." He explained and looked so damn proud of himself as he did so. "My research suggested that fellatio is better for the partner when a lot of spit is involved. It didn't seem necessary for kissing. But don't worry, the liquid is completely non-toxic and harmless."  
  
"Yeah, you're such a smartass, aren't you?" Hank snorted and reached to bury his fingers back in Connor's hair. "Come on – don't make me die of blue balls here."  
  
He gave his head a little nudge and Connor understood. Soon his lips were wrapped around his cock again, taking him deeper into his mouth.  
  
Hank felt his eyes nearly roll back all the way into his head. The warm wetness was breathtaking and hell, it was still very different from any human mouth he ever had the pleasure to have on his dick. The spit – the liquid – in Connor's mouth was much more solid, more like a gunk. The android didn't need to breath and – _damn_ – given how deep he swallowed him down in one go, he also didn't have any form of gag reflex.  
  
"God. Fuck… That feels so good." He moaned, feeling like he should praise Connor for how good he was doing this.  
"Move… move your head a little. Yes, like this." He gently pulled a bit on Connor's hair, guiding him and showing him how it felt even better for him.  
  
Soon Connor's head was bobbing back and forth, his cheeks hollow from sucking on him and some of the liquid was running down from the corner of his mouth to his chin.  
All the while he always looked up to Hank with those beautiful, big eyes.  
  
Hank was a panting mess in no time – like he had feared.  
"Fuck… baby, yes. Your mouth is so good." He kept babbling, voice more of a growl. "You're a natural. If you keep that up this will be over soon. _Oh_ … fuck. I'm sorry. If you... if you don't want jizz on your tongue you need to stop now."  
  
But Connor didn't stop. He made a little noise, a hum, in the back of his throat. Its vibration shook Hank from the tip of his dick up his spine. "Oh!"  
The wetness, now dripping more and more from Connor's chin, was making wet noises as he sucked him down his throat again and again. Fucking himself on Hank's erection.  
  
This was too much.  
Way too much for poor Hank, who had nothing but his right hand in years.  
  
"Ah… Connor!" Hank curled a little into himself as his orgasm hit him like a slap in the face – suddenly and hard.  
He felt himself spilling into the warm heat, feeling better than he had in ages.  
  
His head was spinning and he felt sweaty when he let go of Connor's head and leaned back against the wall. His legs were shaking and he needed to close his eyes for a moment.  
  
He heard Connor going back up to his feet and felt his hands on his chest a moment later.  
  
When Hank opened his eyes again, he could see the android was smiling at him.  
"That was amazing! Better than my simulations. Did I do okay?" Connor wanted to know, actually sounding excited.  
  
"The fuck, Con? Why are you so happy about this?" Hank huffed, still catching his breath. "You were great. No chance I could have lasted any longer than that. Fuck, how embarrassing." He rubbed his face, but Connor took his hand away again.  
  
"You were perfect, Hank. I enjoyed this. Thank you for letting me try." There was so much softness in Connor's voice, that it made Hank feel like he didn't even deserve that.  
  
"So how about you?" Instead he reached for Connor's hip and pulled him closer again. "Do you… uhm. You know? Have a dick?" Smooth. "How can I make you feel good too?"  
  
Connor's LED switched from blue to yellow and blue again before he shook his head.  
"I want you to touch me, Hank." He started explaining. "But… Not right now? Is that okay? I don't want to make you uncomfortable. As I tried to explain: There are certain things that are not yet out of beta-state."  
  
"Nonsense, Connor. I can deal with whatever you have." Hank insisted with a firm voice. He wanted the android to know that. He wanted him to understand that he would take him however he looked, or whatever he had.  
"You could have a tentacle in your pants. I don't care."

  
"I think that would be a kink, Hank." He smiled and reached for his hand, tucking on them and leading him over to the big bed in the room.  
"Please, give me some time?" He still asked of him.  
  
Hank sighed a bit but nodded quickly.  
"I go as fast or as slow as you want, baby. This is about you, not me. But just… promise me that you understand that I will not care either way? I want you to feel good. I will make that possible however I can."  
  
"I understand. Thank you, Hank." Connor slipped out of his shoes then, still smiling at him. "And right now, it would make me feel good if you stayed the night. In my bed. Is that okay?"   
  
"Of course." Hank carefully shrugged off his jacket, so it would not hurt his shoulder. Then he slipped out of his shoes as well, and his jeans. Because fuck that, he would not sleep in jeans.  
  
Connor watched him curiously and then mirrored him – stepping out of his jeans as well. That left him in his underwear and Hank's hoodie, that now had a hole where the bullet had ripped it apart.  
  
"I thought you don't sleep though?" Hank raised an eyebrow as Connor reached for him again and pulled him into bed, putting the blankets over them.  
  
"I go into stasis for a few hours. I have some data to analyze." He smirked.  
  
"Oh, that's gross, Connor." Hank knew exactly what ´sample´ he had to analyze. Fucking weird.  
  
The android leaned above him and pressed another kiss on Hank's lips, making the man melt against him instantly.  
They were lying on their sides – Hank carefully on his healthy shoulder, facing each other.  
  
Their legs tangled together and when Hank's slipped a little higher, brushing his thigh against Connor's crotch, he could not only hear the android's breath hitch, but he also felt some wetness against his skin – which raised some questions.  
  
"Another time." Connor gently pushed Hank's leg down a bit and kissed him again. "I can already predict that you won't get enough sleep. So let's rest for as long as you can."  
  
Hank sighed and nodded. Another time it was.  
For now, he wrapped his arm around Connor's frame and pulled him closer – which had the android bury his face against his neck with a content little sound.  
  
This was really happening, wasn't it?  
Hank had allowed himself a weakness and it felt so very right. He wanted this. Wanted to be egoistic and hold Connor like this. Make him his. Give himself to Connor. With all he had to offer – even if it felt like it was worthless and small. If the android wanted it, he could have it.  
  
But he was not naïve. He knew this would cause even more trouble. The very reason why he had hesitated and assumed this would never happen in the first place.  
But who was he to say no when he was looked at with so much fondness, when he was wanted?   
  
"Good night, Connor."  
  
"Good night."  
  
+-+-+-+-+-+  
  
It was 6.30 am when his phone started to ring. The hotel room was still bathed in darkness, except for the tiny blue light on Connor's head, and Hank tried to ignore his ringtone. No, he wanted to sleep. Fuck off.  
  
The bedsheets rustled when Connor moved next to him, sitting up.  
"Hank." His voice was hushed and he reached to gently rub over the man's chest. "Wake up, Hank. Your phone."  
  
"Ugh I know…" Hank grumbled, voice rough with sleep. "Fucking hell, it's 6 am." He complained as he had leaned down and reached for his phone.  
He had to close his eyes against the sudden light from it.  
  
"What?" He grumbled into his phone as he picked up.  
  
_Fowler._  
  
+-+-+-+-+-+  
  
An hour later Hank was at the precinct. Tired. And pissed off that he had been ripped away from literal heaven.  
Connor had been so warm and soft next to him. He had kissed him again – Oh god, he loved the kisses he was getting.  
If they would have let him, Hank would gladly spend the rest of his days sharing his bed with Connor like that.  
  
The android had been so sweet, cooing at him that everything would be okay. He had made sure that Hank took his painkillers and kissed him some more before he left.  
  
But now he was here.  
It was cold. He was having a headache, despite the painkillers. And he had to leave Connor at the hotel.  
  
He walked past the desks and could tell that Reed was following him with his eyes. Of course, the fucker was already here. Probably to make sure he would not miss what Fowler had to tell Hank.  
  
He stepped into the glass office and closed the door behind himself.  
"You wanted to see me?"  
  
Fowler turned around on his chair. He was holding a newspaper in his hands that he then slapped on the desk noisily.  
  
"You maybe want to explain something, Anderson? Markus already called me as well. Lovely call to get in the early morning. Dealing with angry politicians is my favorite hobby." His voice was dangerously calm.  
  
Hank stepped closer to have a look at the newspaper. ´ _Gossip daily´_ it was. The shittiest, lying, piece of shit gossip paper out there.  
  
He swallowed thickly when he saw the title picture. It was himself and Connor when they were about to get into the cab. Hank was having his hand on the small of Connor's back, looking over his shoulder to the man that had been yelling at Connor rudely.  
  
The title under the picture said:  
  
**THE SECRET LIFE OF CONNOR – HIS AFFAIRS WITH THE DPD!  
****WHO IS THE MAN BY HIS SIDE?  
BODYGUARD? FRIEND? LOVER?**  
  
Hank knew the shit show was about to start now. He had some explaining to do...   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo next chapter will be finally some consequences of their actions :D! I just wanted them to get closer to each other first. 
> 
> I hope it didn't feel too rushed. I never know if I'm too slow and drag stuff, or if I rush too much.
> 
> 6570 hours is 9 Months btw!


	6. Chapter 6

"No, let me read this beauty to you." Fowler reached for the paper again and cleared his throat, before Hank could even open his mouth and say something.   
  
Hank sank down on a chair and mentally prepared himself for the shit that was about to hit the fan.   
  
_"Last night around 12.30 am Connor was seen at the St. Martins Hospital in Downtown Detroit. At his side was none other than Hank Anderson, a Lieutenant at the Detroit Police Department.  
The man was seen in Connor's presents during the whole day, for security reasons – or so we assumed. The hospital visit, though, seemed to be of a more private nature.   
Connor had joined the Lieutenant for an unknown medical treatment and then shared a cab with him. The two men drove towards a hotel and until the deadline of this issue of ´Gossip daily´ Anderson had not left it.    
  
That raises several questions: Why was Connor accompanied by police? Where had Connor been before the hospital visit and why did he accompany the Lieutenant there? As an Android a human hospital is not needed, so we can safely say that it was not Connor who needed the treatment.   
  
We dug a little deeper and confirm that Anderson was Connor's co-worker, when he was still working with the DPD.   
Curiously enough the man has a history of anti-android activities, having joined several demonstrations.   
  
Maybe, even though Anderson has a scandalous past, he and Connor shared more than just a cab tonight. Connor had yet to be seen with any love interest.   
  
We keep you updated and would like your opinion on the matter. Can humans and androids be in love? Write us under following email…"_   
  
And again Fowler slapped the newspaper on the desk.   
  
"Scandalous past. Bullshit." Hank muttered, expression grim and his arms crossed.   
  
"I think you are not aware what that means, Anderson." Fowler growled at him and raised a finger in his direction.   
"Listen – I don't give a goddamn flying fuck who you share a bed with, but it becomes a problem when this develops into a public matter. Do you know what that means for the name of the DPD? Connor is your ward right now and you _kidnap_ him from the hotel, you drag him through Detroit and return to the hotel with him for everyone to see!" Fowler's voice raised to a yell towards the end of that sentence.   
"You cause a scene at the hospital, you get hurt while you're at it and you make it look like we mix private matters with professional ones!"   
  
Hank opened his mouth to defend himself, but Fowler kept yelling at him:   
  
"Markus called me and he was upset! And hell, I can't blame him! Androids and humans are a delicate affair right now. Any scandal could cause the public opinion to change and that could destroy any process they have made." Silly as it was, but sex-affairs had destroyed much higher politician's careers overnight.   
"They can't afford a discussion on human-android relationships right now! For god's sake, Anderson! What were you thinking?!"     
  
"Listen, I-" But again Hank was interrupted.   
  
"No, I'm not done yet!" Fowler hissed at him, loudly. "As if that shit is not bad enough already: You dragged Connor to a crime scene?! Have you lost it completely now? Not only did you share those sensitive information with him, no, you dragged him there and got him in danger! Got shot yourself in the process and if Reed told me the truth, Connor even had your service weapon! If anyone figures that out, they will accuse the DPD of working with Markus' party and getting involved in political bullshit. This is a damn serious scandal and we can only hope this never reached the light of day. … Hank." Fowler shook his head. "I should fire you for this. Hell, I should sue your sorry ass and make sure you never see a cent from this precinct ever again."   
  
Hank sank down his chair a little, looking anywhere but Fowler. He had expected this. But it was still hard to hear. If he lost this job now…   
"We found a lead, Jeffrey." He tried to explain through clenched teeth. "We were at the right place during the right time. It was lucky if anything else. … Listen, I know. I know I should not have brought Connor there. I didn't think we would find anything. I just wanted him to feel like we were working together again, to be happy with that. That we ran into that android was just a whole bunch of bad timing… or good. Depending on how you see it."   
  
"Give me your badge and your weapon." Fowler sighed.   
  
Hank got to his feet, feeling cold dread settle in his stomach. Before he had met Connor, he had considered to give up his job.   
It was during especially dark nights where he had been holding whisky in one hand and his weapon in the other. When he had wanted to make a clean cut.   
  
´Not tonight´ he had told himself then, ´I still need to quit my job first´   
  
It had been a weak excuse to not do it. To not pull the trigger for another night – but it had kept him alive.   
And now, that he was about to actually lose his job, it felt like he was losing a life-line.   
  
"You're suspended. For a month. Until I decide what to do with you." Fowler then explained when Hank reached for his badge to hand it over.   
  
"Jeffrey, I-"   
  
"Shut the hell up, will you?" Fowler grumbled and took the badge, then the weapon. "I should have kicked you out years ago. Maybe I still will. This month doesn't mean that you are out of this. Maybe I do it. I should. You overstepped so many lines over the years, I barely have any reason to keep you anymore. And just so you understand: You're off the case. And you're off personal-protection. Stay away from Connor while he works."   
  
Hank made a face, looking down to his shoes in shame and kept quiet.   
  
"You better thank Connor for this, you know?" Fowler then said. "Since he arrived all those months back, you changed, Hank. For the better. And as your friend I am happy about this. But as your boss, I'm pissed off. I'm not sure which side of me will win this yet, so you better keep your mouth shut and your head low. Understood?"   
  
"Yes, sir."   
  
"Ah-hah! He still knows how to behave. Good. Now get out." Fowler waved his hand then, sending him away.   
  
Hank breathed out and left the office again.   
He knew he was lucky, that Fowler had some mercy on his ass … but he still felt awful about it. What about the case? They finally had a lead and now he was out of it? Was he supposed to just sit around for four weeks and let Reed take care of the body-part-collector? This left him insanely angry.   
  
And what about Connor? Who would watch over him now during the day? How would Hank be able to see him now?   
  
He walked past the desks, when Reed suddenly spoke up:   
"Please tell me he finally fired you."   
  
Hank took a step towards Reed, grabbing the front of his shirt and lifted him up by it:   
"Listen here, you cocksucker – One more word and I will-"   
  
"Anderson!" Fowler barked from the door of his office. "What did I tell you?! Get the fuck out of here!"   
  
"Be a good dog and do what he says." Reed smirked. "Go back to your plastic sex toy. Before some fangirl snatches him away from you."   
  
Hank pushed Reed back into his chair roughly, glaring at him, but not saying anything anymore. Fowler had told him to keep low, and he was probably better off doing exactly that.   
Reed was not worth his time anyway.   
  
Angrily he stormed off and returned to his car. He felt naked without his badge. What should he do now? Where should he go?   
Home would be a good start. Poor Sumo had been left alone yesterday night and Hank felt awful about that.   
  
+-+-+-+-+   
  
Of course, Sumo had left him a puddle in the living room and it probably served him right. Poor boy must be hungry and desperate for a walk.   
  
"I'm sorry." Hank got to his knees when he reached home, so he could give Sumo's fur a proper ruffle.   
"I'm a bad owner, I know." He sighed and got up again to fill Sumo's bowl. "Here eat up. Then we go for a walk."   
  
Hank walked over to the mirror in his bathroom, checking on himself. He looked awful. His hair was a mess, his clothes were wrinkled, his eyebags were dark and deep.   
Usually he would avoid looking at himself at all, finding it nearly unbearable to see. He used to be hot stuff. Back in his 30s and 40s. Buff and with curly blond hair. Big and intimidating. And now?   
Hell, it was still a riddle to him why Connor wanted him at all. His wrinkles, his saggy skin, his lifeless hair.   
But. He did. He wanted him. And Hank saw his reflection smiling back at him.   
  
Damnit.   
  
Sumo boofed from the living room and Hank walked back to him.   
"Can you believe that?" He asked his dog. "He kissed me, Sumo. _Me._ I was so sure I'd never get kissed again. Hell, let alone get laid." He reached for the leash and Sumo hurried over to the front door – he knew what the leash meant.   
Sumo's tail was wagging so hard that it shook his whole butt.   
  
Just moments later they were outside, walking their usual round. The air still felt very cold and was a faint reminder of how early it still was.   
Hank yawned and stopped by a store to get himself a coffee, before he kept on walking with his dog.   
  
While he waited for Sumo to sniff on an old tree that clearly marked his territory, Hank reached for his phone.   
He still needed to tell Connor what happened.   
  
_Fowler suspended me. Took me off the case, and I won't be there for your guys protection either. Fucking shitty start to the day._   
  
And that put it lightly. Hank had no idea what to do with himself now. He could not return to Connor and he could not work on the case.   
He would not even be able to know who the android was that attacked them yesterday. He was cut off.   
  
_I am sorry. This feels like it's all my fault. I caused so much trouble.  
\- Connor._   
  
Hank sighed and shook his head when he read the answer. He did a few taps on his phone and instead tried to call the android. Much easier than texting.   
  
Sumo moved on, so Hank nearly got his arm pulled out on one side as he held the phone to his ear with the other – luckily the arm holding the leash was not the one that got hurt last night. Otherwise he would probably be howling in pain right now.  
  
"Hey." He said as soon as he heard Connor picking up. It was technically like calling directly to the android's head – which was very weird and he would rather not think too much about it.   
  
"Hank, I am so sorry."   
  
"Can you stop apologizing already? Bad habit, seriously. You're not responsible for everything that goes wrong around you." Goes for the guilt he was feeling towards his fellow people as well.   
"But it certainly feels that way."   
  
"For someone who is trying to find logic and reason in everything, you let your feelings of guilt really overwhelm you a lot." Hank stressed out.   
"Seriously, Connor. I will deal with this somehow. I can be glad that Fowler didn't kick me out. God knows he should have. I will just stay on my best behavior for a month and then hope he will have mercy."   
  
"What about the case?"   
  
"Guess we have to leave that to Reed. Which is bullshit. Kid will just fuck it up. But my hands are tied now, I can't do anything." Hank sighed, shrugging a little even though Connor could not see it.  
  
"How will I see you now? I want to see you."   
  
Connor was asking a good question there. Hank had no idea.   
  
"No one can forbid you from seeing someone, right?" He stopped again as Sumo boofed at another dog on the other side of the street.   
"I can just go to the hotel and visit you."   
  
There was a tiny moment of silence on Connor's side.   
"The press will see you and take pictures. Have you seen the article about us?"   
  
Hank swallowed thickly. Of course, it would not be that easy.   
He didn't want to give a fuck about what other people thought about them. But then he remembered the comment again.  
 ´Gross´.   
People would judge them. Rip them apart, because that was just how humans worked. They loved the gossip, they loved talking badly about people.   
  
And Fowler and Markus were right: Public opinion was a nasty bitch. It could turn on them any moment and that would harm everything that the androids had fought for so far. And it still wasn't much. There was still so much to take care of.   
Their rights were nothing but temporary. The revolution just happened a few months ago and should things tilt they could easily be taken away again.   
  
Hank didn't think that Connor's love-life had so much power, but it would certainly be able to start discussions and change how people looked at them. It could be a spark that would lead to a consuming fire. Connor was one of the faces of the android revolution after all. People looked at him and what he was doing everywhere and at all times.  
They had to be careful about this.   
  
And given that the nasty press had dug deep enough to even go for his past…   
Hank was not proud about this. No anymore, no. But he could not deny that he had an anti-android past. The bitterness and desperation over losing his son had made him leash out to the easiest people to blame.   
He had been wrong and he was ashamed of this by now. But if media wanted to write more about him they would certainly go for that again.   
  
"I've seen it, yes." Hank finally answered, sounding defeated. "… Maybe we can meet in secret. I can at least try to get into the hotel unseen."   
  
He felt like a love-sick fool right now. Things between them had changed so suddenly and so quickly - Hank was not willing to let that die down just as quick.   
And Connor would be leaving soon. Travelling the world again and fighting for what was his right. There was no space for Hank in that life.   
  
If a few days was all he could get, he wanted to use them properly.   
  
"Tonight then." Connor suggested. "Use the side entrance again. I have to give some interviews this morning. Then we will talk to a factory that hired androids – thanking them for their efforts to include and pay us fairly. It will fill up my whole day but… 7pm I should be here."   
  
It was risky, of course it was. But what other options did they have? Hank would certainly not suggest for Connor to leave the hotel again. That had gone wrong too badly yesterday. But if he could smuggle Connor outside unseen, he might be able to get in as well.   
Even though by now he was under no illusion that the place would be exploding with paparazzi.  
  
"I'll be there." Hank said with determination in his voice – only to then hesitate again. "Listen, Connor… I uhm. I just want you to know that last night was…" Was what? He didn't know how to put in words how much this had meant to him. How much it made him happy and how he was not regretting it, despite being suspended from work over it. Despite having a bullet wound on his shoulder now. And probably a few more articles about himself in the gossip-papers soon.   
  
"I know." Connor then said and Hank could hear a smile in his voice. "I know, Hank. For me too. I am glad that my calculations had been correct."   
  
"Calculations?"   
  
"I gave myself a 86,5% chance that you would follow me upstairs. So, I decided to dare it." The android explained.   
  
"You and your fucking math. I'd never have guessed I would have a thing for a calculator one day." Hank chuckled, shaking his head.   
  
"That's offensive, Hank."   
  
"Suck it up, Robot-boy." He smirked and he saw his house come back into view again. "I'm home soon again."   
  
"I have to leave for my interview soon, too." Connor explained. "I think it's Officer Chen following us today."   
  
"Well, she will be in for a lot of boredom."   
  
"Hank."   
  
"It's true. I was bored out of my fucking mind yesterday." Hank let go of Sumo's leash in order to fumble for his keys.   
"I'll see you tonight, Connor."   
  
+-+-+-+-+   
  
Hank decided that he needed a shower, and some breakfast. Yesterday had been stressful and long – even though it had ended very nicely, it had still been exhausting.   
  
So he soaked himself in hot water – which was a pain, because his bandages shouldn't get wet – but nevertheless grooming himself better than he had in years. He even used some of those fancy-pancy products in his hair, that would make it much softer.   
He trimmed his beard a little and put on some clean clothes afterwards.   
  
When he walked back to the living room – rubbing his still wet hair with a towel – he heard a familiar voice on TV.   
  
_"… It has been a great step for us and we are thankful for the work humans and androids put into this."_   
  
It was that Simon-guy, talking in one of the interviews.   
The androids were so… submissive. Surely an approach to calm humanity down a little. This was not ´robots take over the world and make humans their slaves´, like many old sci-fi movies had suggested.   
They were peaceful and thankful – oh, so very thankful – to be working hand in hand with humans.   
It was a strategy. Of course. But it worked.   
  
_"According to our two-year-plan we should be able to build up renewable sources of energy that can be used by androids and humans alike. With our abilities and human-knowledge on the matter, we are certain that-"  
_  
Connor.   
  
Sumo boofed at the TV, wagging his tail and watching it curiously.   
"Uh-huh. That's him, Sumo. You recognize his voice, hm?" Hank snorted, walking over to his fridge.   
He grabbed some eggs and toast – he didn't have more in there to eat. But it would make a nice, proper breakfast.   
  
Looking over to the TV again, Hank couldn't help but shake his head about this dog. He was still standing there, watching TV-Connor. Sumo misses him too.   
"He knows how to talk, doesn't he? I can see why Markus wanted him to join his little gang. He was made to talk and charm." And he had told that Connor too, when the decision was to be made all those months back.   
  
Hank wondered now if this had been a mistake.   
To tell him that he should join Markus. To follow him. To fight at his side. Maybe Connor's place had never been there, but…   
No.   
What was he thinking? That was just his egoistic wish to have him here talking.   
But wouldn't Connor be happier, too? Wouldn't Markus and his gang do well without him?   
Of course, Connor was useful to the cause. But he was helping them because he felt guilty and responsible about being on the wrong side for so long. The human-side.   
  
And Androids were still in danger on a much smaller level, too. Here in Detroit. Where someone was attacking them and stealing their limbs.   
Where hate-crime was still something that regularly ended up on Hank's desk.   
  
"What should I do, Sumo?" Hank sighed, eating his breakfast.   
His dog walked over to him now in hopes to get a piece of toast for himself.   
  
"I want to support him, but I also want to see him happy. What should I do? Tell him to stay with me? Follow him? Or break this up as soon as he is about to leave? I would just be in his way. Maybe I'm stopping him from doing something great?"   
  
Hank had some thinking to do.   
  
+-+-+-+-+-+  
  
When Hank returned to the hotel at the evening, he was nervous. Nervous that he would be surrounded by paparazzi soon, nervous that the hotel would maybe even kick him out again. And also anxious about how he and Connor would continue… whatever it was they were having now.   
  
Again, he wondered how to greet him – just like he had when he had picked them up at the airport. A hug? A kiss? Hell, how he hated those weird socially awkward moments. He never knew how to play it smoothly.   
  
He stopped his car – which he had to pick up in front of the old factory building they had been in yesterday – he did so quiet far away from the hotel. Better not give anyone an idea what car he was driving.   
  
Hank wore a different jacket than yesterday, put his hair in a bun and put some sunglasses on in a desperate attempt to not be recognized so quickly. But who was he trying to fool here – He usually hovered a head above other people and was twice their size, so it was very hard to not be recognized.   
But he had to do _something_. Just in case that there was really no way of getting inside unseen.   
When he was in his 20s, he used to be a fan himself. Back in the days, before he started his police-training, he had travelled after a band to watch every single one of their concerts. Just grabbed a bunch of buddies, rented a big car and off to the road they went.   
A funny bunch they had been. Everyone dressed all black in black, long hair and tattoos. Weed and alcohol instead of 3 proper meals a day. Wild days.   
  
He even had an Instagram account back then to document his adventures on the road with his friends and with the band. Embarrassing, now that he looked back at it.   
  
He got the worship part. He really did.   
Back during that time, he had a thing for the drummer of that band. God, how he had loved that guy. How well he played, with so much energy and passion. His long hair and the muscles on his arm. Alexander McMucket was his name and he and the trip really were Hank's awakening in figuring out that he liked men as much as he liked women.   
  
Of course, he never told his buddies about it. Travelling for weeks in a car with a bunch of dudes fell under a strict ´No Homo´ rule.   
The one time they had jerked each other off didn't count – of course.   
  
Back then he had always dreamed about going somewhere and bathing in the light of paparazzi – sharing the bed with a famous, sexy Rockstar. Or any kind of star, really.   
  
Now, that Hank literally was in that kind of situation he didn't think this was great at all. He hated it. He wished to be ignored.   
  
Carefully he made his way around to the side-entrance of the hotel – But he had no luck. Now here, too, where a bunch of people with cameras waiting. His trick to avoid the bunch at the front really had expired.   
  
Still, he had to try it. For Connor.   
He tried to move past them with confidence, like he belonged here or was just someone working at the hotel, trying to get inside.   
And it nearly worked. No one was paying attention to him at first.   
  
But just when he was about to reach out for the door, his cover blew up.   
So much for his luck.   
  
"It's him!!"   
"It's Anderson!!"   
  
It was just a few seconds before Hank got into the safety of the hotel, but it was enough to blind him with the flashes of many camera clicking and taking his picture.   
  
"Fuck…" He muttered under his breath but lost no time to get the hell inside the building.   
  
Even though they could not follow him here Hank made sure to hurry over to the elevators. No need to linger around.   
  
Soon he reached the right floor. He took off his sunglasses and walked down the same hallway that he had walked away from this morning.   
  
Lisa Chen was sitting on a chair close to the rooms of Simon and Connor. She gave Hank a curious look.   
  
"You do know I should kick you out, right?" She warned him.   
  
"I was invited, Lisa. Privately."   
  
"Don't tell me that bullshit about you and Connor is actually true? The shit they wrote in that awful gossip paper? The internet is exploding right now. Have you seen that? You guys are a hashtag." She explained.  
  
A hashtag? So much for keeping a low profile…   
Hank rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming up.   
"I'd rather not see that." He admitted.   
  
Before Lisa could say anything else, Connor's room door opened and the android stepped outside with a wide smile.   
"Hank!" And again, he was taking the man's anxiousness about how to greet him by simply coming up to him and pulling him into a hug.   
  
Hank shot Lisa a glance that said ´I told you I was invited´ and she could only shake her head and sit back down again.   
  
"Did they see you?" Connor asked then, letting go of their hug and his expression was worried.   
  
"I fear they did. They are everywhere. I had no chance to get inside otherwise."   
  
Connor's LED circled yellow and red for a moment, clearly worried about that. But Hank put his hand on the android's shoulder, giving it a little squeeze.   
  
"Let them write. They don't know shit about us. It's all speculation." He tried to calm him down a little. "And in a few days, they will have forgotten about it. Then you're far away at another place and I'm not even there."   
  
Connor didn’t look too pleased about that. He glanced at Lisa and then back at Hank, nodding to his room.   
Both of them turned and slipped inside, closing the door behind them so they could talk privately.   
  
"I don't like this, Hank. Neither the speculation, nor that I will be gone soon again."   
  
Hank sighed and walked over to the bed, sitting down on it. He watched Connor following him. He was now dressed in some white dress-shirt and black trousers again. He could see his black hoodie folded on a chair by the room's desk.   
"You want me to leave again? Listen, I don't want to cause you or your people any trouble just by being here. I understand if that shit is too risky."   
  
"No." Connor sat down next to him, taking his hand. "I don't want you to leave. I… Is it bad, Hank? Please tell me. But I want this? I want you to be here even _if_ it is bad for our cause. I just don't see how my private affairs can have such an effect on politics. I just really fail to see it."   
  
"Huh? Look at that." Hank smiled and turned a little towards Connor, cupping his cheek in a hand. "Finally, you do something for yourself. You want something so you take it. That's egoistic, but fuck that. I say you can be that every once in a while. You do so much for them already, Connor. You invest so much time and effort into this. You are allowed to do what you want as well, you know? I told you that if this makes you unhappy and-"   
  
"Don't start that again, Hank." Connor pushed the man's hand away from his face, LED going red again.   
"I won't stop supporting Markus in this. Not now. We got so far. So many new laws and rules are in discussion and Markus works so hard to make this possible. We will have proper rights in near future, the right of housing, the right of adoption – marriage! It… it just all takes a while and I want to be there through the whole way. I just don't want this – you – to get the short end of it. Hank, I miss you so much, I sometimes don't know what to do with myself." He looked down to his hands.   
"Can't I have both?"   
  
"Maybe." Hank breathed out, then shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe there is a way." He leaned closer, bumping his head gently against Connor's.   
"But I am here now. I won't go away. Let the future be the future for now, okay?"   
  
The android closed his eyes for a moment, reaching out to cup Hank's face in his hands.   
"You're here." He repeated, placing a gentle kiss on Hank's lips before he opened his eyes again.   
"I don't think I've ever felt so alive." He then explained. "I… admit I felt something that would be accurately described as envy for Markus, Simon and North. Even Josh has a partner. I… felt like I'm missing out on something. I think."   
  
"So, you just want me because you're jealous that everyone has a partner but you?"   
  
"No! No no." Connor quickly kissed Hank again, pressing closer to his side. "When I watched them together, saw how happy they were, I thought of you. Always you. I hoped we could be together like that."   
  
Hank couldn't stop himself from smiling a little. It felt good to be wanted, to be chosen. His self-doubt wanted to call Connor's words a lie, but it felt too good to let himself be overtaken by those thoughts. Why would he lie about this? He could have anyone. Yet, it was Hank who was sitting on his bed, who was kissed by that perfectly designed face.   
  
"I honestly don't even know what I am supposed to say to that." He admitted, watching Connor's mouth curl into a smirk.   
"Then don't say anything."   
  
Hank kissed him again, eyes falling close. His hand placed on the android's waist, pulling him closer and his legs over his lap.   
Connor wrapped his arms around his neck, moving his mouth against the other ones hungrily.   
Warmth pooled through Hank's body – making him shrug off his jacket before his hands gently rubbed up and down on Connor's sides.   
  
"I want you." He growled against his lips. "So badly. For so long."   
  
"I'm all yours." Connor was all happy smiles and little sounds that showed Hank he was feeling good in his arms.   
  
He kissed along the android's jaw, down to his neck. Connor tilted his head a little, giving Hank space and his fingers intertwined with silver hair, holding him close.   
  
Hank's head was swimming, he felt dizzy with luck. Connor was so warm in his arms, so alive. His little sounds, right by his ear, were sending shivers through his body and his fingers felt like they were burning his skin wherever they touched.   
He had not thought that his life would change so quickly.   
  
Hank pushed them down the bed then, hovering over Connor and reaching for the buttons of his dress shirt.   
They kissed, tongues entangled as Connor's hands slipped under his shirt, caressing the skin of his back.   
  
"Hank…" Connor broke their kiss mewling his name like a little prayer.   
  
He was so beautiful. Hank stared at him in awe for a tiny moment as he was lying under him like that – spread out on white sheets, wanting him.   
  
He leaned down, nipping at a collarbone, tracing it with his tongue. He could feel Connor aching his back under him.   
He had worried that the android would maybe not feel as a human did, but his worries seemed to be for nothing.   
  
He kissed downwards, mouthing at milky white skin, opening up more buttons as he went.   
  
But suddenly Connor reached for his healthy shoulder and stopped him.   
"Wait…!"   
  
There was a panic in the other ones' voice that had Hank frozen in place instantly, looking up at him.  
  
Connor sat up, slipping out from under Hank, staring at nothing.   
His LED was going red, blinking.   
  
"He needs help."   
  
"What? Who?" Hank sat up as well, confused and already mourning their contact.   
  
"Simon. He is getting attacked!" Connor slipped off the bed in an instant, hurrying for the door. "The connection just broke up. Shit."   
  
"What the-?! How-? Lisa is sitting right in front of his door!" Hank groaned unhappily and followed Connor.   
  
"He is not in his room!" And with that Connor started running down the hallway, leaving confused Lisa and Hank behind him.   
  
"Don't ask. I have no idea." Hank told his co-worker and hurried after Connor quickly.   
  
How was that possible? Simon was getting attacked? Inside the hotel? There was police surrounding the building! And why was the damn android not in his room for his own securities sake?!   
What was going on?  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cockblocked by Android Hive Mind.   
> I'm sorry Hank :´) 
> 
> The game never stated how much androids can communicate with each other mentally? Kara and Luther were next to each other, but I just say this works at least within the same building.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for taking this long with the chapter! Real life happened - you know how it is!   
> Back to normal now :)

Connor was way too quick for him. Androids didn't need to gasp for air.   
Also, his shoulder was hurting a lot with how he bounced it while running. Damnit.   
  
He saw a brief flash of Connor running down some stairs as soon as they had reached the ground floor of the hotel.   
He was going down to the hotels cellar, which was marked with an ´employees only´ sign.   
  
Why was Simon there?   
This was all just a giant riddle for Hank.   
  
Some employees gave them confused looks, but the two of them were running so quickly that they barely had a chance.   
And with Lisa – who clearly was part of the police – following them, they kept quiet.   
  
"Simon…!" Hank heard Connor's voice and just a few breathtaking more steps until he saw the two androids again.   
  
Simon was sitting on the floor, surrounded by big industrial washing machines.  His LED was bright red but otherwise he seemed fine.   
  
"What- What the fuck?" Hank came to a stop, breathing heavily and needing a moment to catch his breath again. Oh god, he was out of shape. Badly.   
  
Connor turned back towards the human and only now Hank could see that the skin on Simon's throat had been peeled back and part of his chassis seemed cracked.   
  
"He was attacked. Electric shock. The attacker took his voice box." Connor explained with a stony, unemotional face.   
  
The body-part-collector. He had been here. In this hotel. Which was protected and supposed to be secure.   
A bold move. Hank wondered why he would risk that?   
  
"Why was he down here? Hell!" Hank looked at Simon directly then, even though he assumed the poor android could not speak anymore. "You were supposed to be in your room! Where you are _safe_!"  
  
Lisa finally caught up to them, still looking utterly confused.   
  
Connor made an effort to explain to her too what happened, which was followed by Hank pointing towards the door.   
"Go and get us a list of every employee of this hotel. Especially those that were hired only a short while ago. There is no way the attacker could have just walked in here, attacked and then left the employees-only area without anyone noticing." It had to be someone that no one would pay attention to. And no one would take another look if an employee walked into the washing room.   
  
"May I remind you you're off the case?" Lisa huffed, shaking her head. But she turned around and left anyway. Because Hank was right.   
"I will call this in. We need more police force here."   
  
"He says a man asked him for his help. That there was an android who seemed to malfunction." Connor explained, his LED blinking.   
Despite Simon not having a voice box anymore he was still able to connect to Connor wirelessly.   
  
"And you just follow a stranger down a cellar?! When you know there is someone who targets androids out there?" Hank growled, finding this incredibly naïve.   
"I would ask if your parents didn't teach you to go with strangers but – ugh! Fucking androids."   
  
"He just wanted to help. The attacker took him by surprise." Connor shrugged a little, patting Simon's shoulder to comfort him a little.   
"Still, that was very dangerous, Simon. Please don't ever do that again."   
  
"Why do you think the Collector risked this? I mean he has a habit of attacking during odd times and in odd places, but this is borderline suicide." Hank wondered.   
  
"Attention? Showing that we are not untouchable?" Connor mused. "Which makes me think…" He looked around. "Do you think he is still in the hotel?"   
  
That had Hank frozen. Of course. The man could still be around. If he vanished in the anonymity of an employee he would make himself suspicious if he simply left completely.   
  
Before Hank could say anything Lisa and two peers came back to what now was officially a crime-scene.   
  
They walked towards Simon, crouching down to talk to him and Connor helped them to explain what Simons answered through their connection.   
  
Hank was sure that it would be only a matter of time before Reed showed up and he was not looking forward to that.   
Especially since he was supposed to keep his head low.   
  
Hank walked a few meters, carefully staying away from the scene. He wanted to at least pretend that bullshit was not seeking him out wherever he goes. Especially when he was together with Connor.   
  
He took a few steps back to the ground floor of the hotel, when he saw a suspicious figure.   
A man dressed in a hotel-employees uniform was snooping around, trying to get a look of what was going on.   
He caught Hank's eyes and quickly turned away to leave.   
  
Huh.   
  
Hank walked up the rest of the stairs and followed the man in walking-speed. Maybe the guy had seen something?   
  
As soon as the man started to realize that Hank was following him, he started to run.   
  
"Oh fuck."   
  
Hank hesitated and looked back to the stairs that leaded down the cellar. He needed to alarm his co-workers, but that would take a lot of time and give the suspect a chance to escape.   
There was a chance it was only a curious employee who felt caught looking around, but he could not risk it.   
  
Hank instead reached for his phone and dialed up Lisa – who took her sweet time to pick up. She surely was still busy with Simon and was not paying attention to Hank calling her. Why would she?   
  
He started to walk after the man, trying to not let him out of his view. Fucking hell, so much for staying out of trouble.   
  
There were footsteps behind him – quick ones. And soon Hank could see Connor hurrying past him.   
  
"What the hell, Connor?!" Hank called after him, phone still pressed to his ear. "Don't go there!"   
"He will leave if we are not quick." Connor explained with all the calm of the world. So he had seen the man too? Hank didn't even dare to think about how he did that. He had been in the cellar with Simon just moments ago.   
  
"You're not police! And I'm off the case. Stay the fuck away from him." Hank growled angrily, mostly because he was worried.   
But as always, the damn android would just never listen to what he said to him. Before he could react, Connor started running and was soon around a corner and out of his field of view.   
  
Jesus Christ.   
  
"Connor for god's sake!" Hank cursed and started to jog lightly after him. He could not go any faster – he should not. He would just be accused of causing trouble again and his shoulder was also not allowing him any more speed.   
  
He walked into another hallway of the hotel – It reminded him a lot of Stephen Kings ´The Shining´. Hank just waited for creepy twins to show up at any moment.   
  
But there was no sign of Connor or the man. Where the hell could they have gone too?   
  
He crossed several doors that all looked the same except for the golden numbers they had attached to them.   
  
He could hear police sirens from the distance, which meant that back-up had reached the hotel.   
If they were really following the Body-Collector he was surrounded now.   
  
Finally, Lisa picked up her phone and Hank had to bite his tongue not to yell at her what was taking her so long.   
  
"We found someone." He quickly and breathlessly explained. "He acted suspicious, walked close to the cellar. An employee. Maybe it's nothing, but you should send someone to look at it. We try to catch up to him and lock him in place."   
  
"For fucks sake, Anderson – you're off the case! How many times do I need to say this?!" Lisa groaned unhappily from the other side of the line.   
  
"Yeah yeah, I know. Come on, cut me some slack." Hank huffed. "It's probably nothing. I just want to ask that man some questions. Just… don't tell Fowler or Reed? Please."   
He knew he was already stepping over the line. "Connor ran after him, I can't let him go alone."   
  
"… I will send an Officer your way. Where are you?" Lisa then said with a sigh, probably shaking her head about how stubborn they were.   
  
"Close to room number 198." He glanced at the doors he crossed. "Thank you, Lisa."   
  
"Shut up and don't do anything stupid." She said before she hung up on him.   
  
Hank was glad that she would probably not be a snitch. He should at least buy her a coffee next time he got the chance.   
Just when he put his phone into his pocket he could hear yelling from another stairway in front of him. It was leading down again towards another cellar structure under the hotels hallways.   
Again, the wall was decorated with a ´employees only´ sign.   
  
"We just have some questions, Sir. Would you...?" Connor. But his last sentence was cut off before he could finish it.   
"Ah!" Instead Hank could hear the android yelp, followed by a crash.   
  
"Fuck!" Hank started running again, hurrying down the stairs.   
While the hallways had a pretty wallpaper and proper light to make it comfortable for the guests, there was just cold, dark stone and lightbulbs for the employees down here.   
The stink was also suggesting that this was a place to get rid of the hotels waste. Not a pretty place to be.   
  
Hank could hear a metallic clank to the right and followed the tiny hallways down to another room.   
  
He stumbled inside and saw Connor lifting up a metal manhole lid – more than ready to step inside and down to the sewers.   
  
"Wait...! What the fuck is happening?!" Hank walked over with quick steps, only to stop and gasp when he saw what had happened to Connor.   
  
There was a pocketknife stuck to his right eye. It had lost its natural glow and was instead sparking electricity.   
Connor, meanwhile, seemed to be completely unbothered by it.   
  
"He attacked me and used the moment of my confusion to flee into the sewers. We have to follow him." The android explained in perfect calm.   
  
"No, we don't!" Hank came even closer and grabbed Connor's arm to stop him from leaving. "We're not working on the case, Connor! You're hurt – fuck." He pulled him away from the manhole and had him let the lid fall with a loud bang that made Hank wince from how loud it was.  
"We call over Officers and let them follow him inside. We can't, Connor. You just put yourself in danger."   
  
Hank could see how the androids LED started to blink red and he looked incredibly hurt over this.   
  
"Come on, don't give me that look. I'm angry myself, but we can't."   
He took a good look at the knife in Connor's eye, making a face at how gruesome that looked. His eye was completely cracked and broken. But Hank had to remind himself that Connor was not feeling any pain and that this was just a part to be replaced. What a handy difference to humans that was.   
  
"He hurt Simon. He hurt all those other androids. I nearly had him." Connor explained and while his voice stayed his usual calm, Hank could tell how angry he was.   
  
Hank tucked at his arm again, leading him away from the sewer entrance and towards the stairs.   
He could hear footsteps upstairs and turned towards the sound.   
"Down here! Get your asses here!" He called loudly and soon two Officers came down the stairs towards them.   
"I think it was him. He fled into the sewers. Get down there and give him a chase! I will inform the others."   
  
The two officers looked a bit shocked, staring at Connor's eye clearly disturbed, but quickly gave him a grim nod and ran towards the manhole.   
It was their chase now. That was all they could do right now.   
  
Hank didn't let go of Connor's arm as if he feared that the android would make a run for it.   
  
"Come." He said in the softest voice he could manage, because Connor's LED was still rapidly blinking red. "Let me bring you back to Simon. You're both hurt now. Let the officers do their work."   
  
"It's not fair." Connor said and his healthy eye looked anywhere but Hank.   
  
"I know, baby." He said in a more private tone, since there was no one around them. "I know you struggle with this, but you're not with the DPD anymore. A civilian doesn't chase criminals down in sewers."   
  
"But I was _built_ to chase them!" The android suddenly snapped and all the controlled calm was gone from his voice. "I could have caught him! I could have gotten to him in approximately 3 Minutes and 25 seconds if he continued with that speed. I am not hurt, I am damaged and it can be fixed later! He is a danger to my people and I could have stopped him!" He pulled his arm away from Hank's grip. His eye sparked some more.   
  
Hank looked over at him with a worried expression. He understood that while androids were free to do whatever they wanted now, their programming was still part of what they were made of. And Connor was not exactly following his own programming in a really long time.   
Hank, as a human, could not even dare to imagine how that felt. He assumed it must be similar to being stuck in a situation you hated and it was slowly driving you mad.   
  
"I'm sorry, Connor." Was all he could tell him. "I'm sorry you can't do what you would like to do. Like you said: It's not fair. But you have to keep in mind that you still help your people. Just differently."   
  
Oh, how he wished he could just scoop Connor up and run away with him. Away from the media, away from the responsibility. Maybe open up a little detective office somewhere far away.   
  
Connor's shoulders sank and Hank could tell he was forcing down his emotions. Closing the windows. Shutting down the .exe's.   
It was horrible. That should not be what his freedom was all about.   
  
"Let's get back to Simon. Officer Chen called in a Cyberlife technician to replace Simon's voice box. We cannot let the paparazzi's see what happened to us. I get the idea it's what he wanted."   
  
Back to controlled. Back to calm.   
It was fake and forced and Hank hated it.  
  
+-+-+-+-+   
  
A while later the technician came to them. He was dressed in a normal suit and his suitcase made him look like he was simply a business-man on a work-travel.   
Surely so the press outside would not catch on.   
  
Simon and Connor were sitting on some chairs, still down in that cellar-room. Again, to not make anyone see what was going on.   
  
Hank stayed close by, arms crossed and leaning against a wall. Several Officers were guarding the entrance.   
  
There was no word on if his co-workers had caught the suspect or not and Hank knew he would get no answers if he asked. He was nothing but a civilian as well for at least a month.   
  
Watching the technician was a grim reminder of how different androids were. Even though they looked and acted human.   
  
The man opened up the white chassis on Simon's neck, showing tubes and cables inside. He reached for a black box and put it back into his neck, using a screwdriver and attaching some cables that lead to a laptop next to him.   
Hank could see a loading symbol on it and assumed he was simply starting up and installing whatever new voice box the android was getting there.   
  
Then the technician turned to Connor, who's LED still was red and his expression forbidding.   
The man pressed a few places around the eye and soon – with a little hiss – the skin around it deactivated.   
It was as simple as reaching and pulling the area around the eye, together with the eye itself, off his skull. Just a block of cables, chassis and technology that Hank could not even try to understand.   
  
Hank tried to not be disturbed by how Connor looked right now. It was making him feel a little off. A reminder of his non-human state.   
There was part of his skull missing right now – the whole area around his eye, part of his forehead.   
It bared a hole to his insides. Lights blinking, fans spinning and lots and lots of cables connecting everything.   
  
Hank swallowed and seeing how Connor then glanced over to him, he knew that the android could sense his distress. Probably scanned him for it.   
  
Hank stepped closer then and put a hand on Connor's shoulder, giving him a little press.   
"How are you feeling?"   
  
"Exposed." He answered calmly. "You don't have to look if it makes you feel uncomfortable."   
  
"Nah." Hank shrugged. "That's just who you are. I mean you saw my freaking shoulder. Probably didn't look too nice either. … I think humans just have a problem with seeing insides. Monkey brain telling us something is wrong and all that."   
  
"Monkey brain?"   
  
"Yeah? You know, instinct. The stupid part. I'm pretty sure you guys don't have that." He smiled at Connor and finally he got a little smile back.   
  
"Sometimes there is a lot of monkey brain going on." Connor said.   
  
"Oh yes, it is."   
  
The technician came back and shoved a new, fitting part of chassis, back into Connor's skull. He plugged in cables that were connecting the part and with a little hiss it attached itself perfectly.   
Soon the skin around it grew back and Connor blinked with a new, undamaged eye. It looked like nothing had happened to him at all.   
Hank was a little jealous thinking of how long his shoulder would need to heal.   
  
"Run ea.463.admin.exe and you should be fine." The technician explained to Connor before he turned back to Simon and unplugged his laptop from him.   
"Try to speak."   
  
"This is a test." Simons answered with a perfectly normal voice, that sounded exactly like he had sounded before.   
Hank had expected him to now have a new voice. But then again, Simon was a normal caretaker model. There were dozens of him on the street. Cyberlife probably had enough replacement parts for his line.   
  
"Great. Seems to run perfect." The technician started to pack together again, while an officer stepped up to him to remind him that those repairs were confidential and they could arrest him for talking to the press.   
Lovely.   
  
"You should return to your room, Simon." Connor told him.   
  
"I think I want to make a call to Markus and North anyway. They need to know what happened." The blond android explained. "Any words on the attacker?"   
  
"I fear not." And there Connor's LED was back to red.   
  
Hank touched his back again, trying to get his attention.   
"We should return to your room too. I mean… except if you want me to leave?"   
  
"No. Come with me please."   
  
+-+-+-+   
  
It felt off. Very much so. To not be included in the investigation. Hank felt like a limb was cut off of him, like he was silenced.   
He could see the glare of Reed as he had walked past him. It was a big giant mess down there.   
Still, there was no word on how it had gone. If they had caught the man, if he was indeed the body-collector.   
  
It was maddening.   
  
Connor started to play silently with a coin when they had returned to his room. He stood by the window and looked out over the city.   
  
Hank didn't even dare to say anything to him right now, so he simply turned on the TV. There was a news show on.  
  
_"Several news reports have reached us about an attack at the Four Seasons Plaza in downtown Detroit.  
We cannot yet confirm if the Androids, that are staying at this hotel, have been part of the attack or not. Nor can we tell If anyone got hurt. We do suspect that-"_   
  
Hank turned the TV more quietly. Of course, they had to cover that story already. But as it seemed they finally managed to keep something away from the public eye.   
  
"I don't know what to do." Connor finally spoke up again, just as Hank sat down on the bed.   
"I feel… unhappy. It doesn't make any sense. I ran several scenarios and none of them are satisfactory in their outcome."   
  
"Scenarios?" Hank shook his head. "Of course you are unhappy, Connor. I wish I could help you with that. But you have to decide for yourself what you want to do."   
  
The android turned back to Hank and walked over to sit down next to him.   
  
"I know that helping Markus is the right thing to do. I know that helping my people is what I _have_ to do." He explained, leaning his head against Hank's shoulder.   
  
Seeking for closeness and comfort felt like such a human thing to Hank. But he was glad that androids had it too.   
He wrapped an arm around Connor's back, letting him talk.   
  
"But I can tell that it… eats away at me. I can only run at 75% of my optimal abilities. Because I don't calibrate what I don't need anymore. And I feel… frustrated at times. I imagine what I could do to escape this all. Just run away. Scenarios. Theoretical plans. I should not have the urge to do that."   
  
Hank huffed quietly and amused at that.   
"A very human feeling, Connor. To want to quit it all and run away." He explained. "And I keep telling you… if this makes you unhappy, you should stop."   
  
He expected Connor to tell him to shut up like he had done all the times before. But not this time.   
  
"How? I'm a public figure now. I cannot return to the DPD without having cameras on me at all times."   
  
Hank looked surprised about that. Was Connor really thinking of returning to the DPD? Returning to Detroit and… him? He felt like an egoistic asshole, but he hoped for it.   
They could return to their partnership, solve cases together. They could live together and share a bed. It was all that Hank could hope for.   
  
But Connor was right. It would not be that easy. Press would follow him and document his life. They would need security and a bigger house to keep them away. Every step they would take would be acknowledged and watched over.   
  
Hank reached and cupped Connor's face in both of his hands, looking into his eyes. Both of them back to their normal, beautiful brown color.   
He leaned closer and kissed his plum, soft lips gently.   
  
"Maybe we just have to run far enough away. So they cannot follow us." He muttered against them.   
  
Connor pressed closer, eyes falling close. Finally, his LED returned to blue.   
He peppered some gentle, featherlight kisses against Hank's mouth and held him gently by the back of his neck.   
  
"There is a 72% chance that it would work." Connor said then quietly. "Where would you want to go?"   
  
Hank knew this was not actually serious. They could not do this, could they? Be that irresponsible?   
But for now, he enjoyed the fantasy.   
  
"How about Spain? Or France. I speak some French." He chuckled, watching Connor's pretty face through his lashes.   
  
"I speak a lot of different languages. That should not be a problem." Connor smirked. "But I would enjoy France. I have a friend there who is an artist. He is also very close with Markus, of course. They were painting together once. I found I have no hand for art. I tried."   
  
Hank chuckled when he heard that. He truly could not imagine stiff Connor in an art gallery, painting.   
"Really? I want to see that picture."   
  
"The artist called it ´the ugliest piece he has ever seen´. It's hanging in his living room now." Connor looked amused about that.   
"Maybe we can go visit him. Maybe we can go and visit all those people I got to know." He actually looked very happy about that idea.   
  
"Really? You want to introduce them to old, shabby me?" Hank snorted. "They will be disappointed."   
  
"Oh, they won't." Connor moved and climbed right into Hank's lap, hands on his shoulders.   
"They will love you, Hank. You're wonderful and funny and handsome." He started to speak quicker, showing his excitement.   
  
Hank couldn't help but laugh and oh, it felt so good to do so.   
"I really think they messed something up with your programming if you think so." He snorted and held him by his hips.   
"But… yes." It felt like a statement. Because he actually meant it. He would follow Connor everywhere.   
"Let's do that. Let's just get the hell out of here."   
  
Connor's smile fell a little.   
"You know we can't actually do that, right?"   
  
"Why not?"   
  
"Because we still have responsibilities here. You have your job and Sumo and I have mine and… the Collector is still out there too."   
  
"I'm suspended for the next four weeks. And my neighbor can watch Sumo. Also, that Collector is not my case anymore. We just have to trust the DPD that they will take care of this."  
  
Connor's LED spun yellow for a moment. Thinking.   
"I… want to." He hesitated to say that. Wanting something. It was still very exciting to him.   
  
"Then let's do it. Let me kidnap you away from here." Hank smirked, knowing they probably jumped from one problem to the other.   
  
"You're a very bad influence, Hank. First you make me deviate and now this."   
  
"I know, baby. Being a bad influence is what I can do best. Hell, you should have seen what an angel Reed was when he started at the DPD."   
  
Connor's laugh – while being a mechanic, uncanny sound – filled the room and it was the most wonderful thing Hank had ever heard.   
  
All was good.   
For now.   
  



	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to misto713 for pointing out that I forgot to mention an important detail in the last chapter! It shall be fixed in this one ;D! 
> 
> Also some robot sexy times this chapter again!   
> My favorite topic really is how humans and androids are different, yet so alike. They were created to be a copy of us and yet they are very unique in their own way.

Somehow, they ended up on their sides, both facing each other and their heads parked on a pillow.   
In the background the TV was still quietly buzzing, filling the room with white noises.   
  
"- And then Sumo simply grabbed my sock and ran off with it." Hank finished his story with a chuckle.   
It had been nothing but a silly little tale about how his dog had stolen a whole basket of his clothes one day to bury them in his backyard – but the bright smile he was getting as a reward was worth the embarrassment.   
  
"I've seen a Saint Bernard in Florida once. It was still a puppy. I hope I can have a dog of my own one day too." Connor confessed.   
  
"Ah? What kind of dog would you like to have?"   
  
"I think a German Shepard sound like a good choice. The reviews on what advantages this kind of dog is having, seems to be fitting with my needs. They are very eager to learn and very obedient. And I can deal with the negatives." He hesitated. "Also, they have very cute, floppy ears when they are puppies."   
  
Hank had to laugh about that. Of course, their cute ears would be a factor in Connor's decision. But there was one thing he still had to ask: "The negatives?"   
  
"Since a German Shepard is considered a purebred, it tends to have problems with its hips." Connor explained, "Just like Sumo might have problems with his stomach as a result of his breeding. I think the smarter decision would be to adopt a mixed one. Maybe I can find one with a German Shepard in its line, so I avoid even those negatives."   
  
"Adopt don't shop." Hank agreed and traced the curve of Connor's waist to his hips with his fingers, while the android's fingers toyed with the hem of his shirt.   
  
"Says the owner of a thoroughbred Saint Bernard. A group 2, Section 2.2 Molossian: Mountain type #61, according to classification standards." Connor smiled at Hank and leaned closer, pressing their lips together.   
  
"Mhm, fuck off." Was all Hank mustered to answer him, wrapping an arm around his waist and pressing them closer together.   
He shoved a leg between Connor's thighs and nibbled at his bottom lips.   
"You know." He said between kisses, "I think we were interrupted with something before."   
  
"Really? With what? I think I failed to secure that memory." Connor asked, sounding cocky and smirking.  
  
"Oh, stop fucking teasing me." Hank rumbled and pushed Connor to his back, climbing on top of him. "It's only charming for a while."   
  
"I think you find me very charming right now, Hank."   
  
That fucker.   
The lieutenant had the urge to shut him up for good and tickle some other sounds from him. He was not sure yet if Connor could even feel pleasure like a human would, but he might as well try.   
  
He leaned closer and pressed their lips together, making their tongues brush against each other. He was still amazed by that dry mouth and he remembered that Connor had the ability to produce something to make it wet. Something he only figured would be useful when he was sucking dick.   
Hell, that should not be so hot.   
  
Hank wondered if Connor had been thinking about sucking _his_ dick when he started to reprogram his mouth to do that.   
  
He let go of those perfectly formed lips to kiss along Connor's strong jaw, down to his neck. The android moved his head with him to give him more space and to show him how he enjoyed Hank's kisses.   
  
He nibbled at silicon skin, sucking on it – testing and pushing, trying to see how Connor would react.   
He really didn't taste or smelled like anything. He was lacking the ability to sweat or produce his own scent. But Hank didn't really mind. The absence of taste and smell was just what made Connor as he was.   
  
There was a little sigh from the android when he nibbled on the spot beneath his ear, which caught Hanks attention. Connor had no need to sigh. No need to breath.   
"Was that a good sound?" He just had to ask. "You like that?"   
  
Connor blinked and turned his head again to look at the human.   
"I… didn't realize I made a sound." He blinked another time, puzzled. "My fans are working with 5% stronger rotations. My CPU seems to be heating up. I… guess I needed a way to let additional air leave my body." He was explaining this more to himself as it seemed.   
  
"Okay, English please. Is that bad? Making your… CPU or whatever heat up? I don't want to fry you."   
It was weird, but so were many things about Connor. Hank had chosen an android partner, so he was willing to take the weirdness.   
  
"No." The android smiled at him. "I find it… feels good. It makes me happy that I feel, Hank. I didn't expect it. I do know that I possess the programming to simulate pleasure, to make my body heat up and react to touch but…" He shrugged, "Now I actually feel it. No simulation. It feels good. It's my own choice to feel. I could shut those programs down, but I don't want to."   
  
"I'm happy to hear that." Hank couldn't help but smile back at him. He wanted Connor to feel good – wanted him to experience this. "So how about we figure out what else feels good for you, hm?"   
  
"Yes please!"   
  
Hank returned to the spot beneath Connor's ear, taking his sweet time with it. He gently nibbled on it, sucked it, licked it, kissed it. He wanted to figure out what was good for Connor and what not.   
He seemed to be into teeth – he made that sigh again and again, the fingers on Hank's shirt curling - but not so much into the sucking.   
  
Hank started to open up the shirt that Connor was wearing, button by button. He followed along with his mouth, exposing a perfectly formed chest. It was small, but athletic and he had to wonder if Cyberlife might have hacked into his porn choices when they send Connor his way. He was just too close to what he preferred in men.   
  
Strong, large hands soon explored that naked chest, rubbing equally perfect pink nipples under the pads of his fingers.   
Again, a sigh, which Hank took as an encouragement. He leaned over one of the pink buds and swiped his tongue over it, taking it gently between his teeth.  
  
"Hank…" That sound went right to the man's cock. "I… I find that area is especially sensitive. 18% more so than my neck."   
  
He looked up, seeing brown eyes watching him and felt slender fingers in his grey, long hair.   
"Color me curious. How does this feel for you? Can you describe it?"  
  
"It's hard to say." The android admitted, "Hard to draw a parallel to what this would be for a human. It's… data. Some areas give me more data than others."   
  
"And more data is good?"   
  
"Yes. Very much so. It floods my system. I was made with a large memory space, so I am able to analyze different input to it. But… This makes my system stutter. Makes it go slower. It overflows with data, even though it should not. I should just be able to register how wet your tongue is, how sharp your teeth are. But I _feel_. I'm not supposed to. It overwhelms me and I enjoy that."   
  
"Makes your brain turn off, I get it." Hank smirked and bit down on one nipple – it made Connor jump a little.   
  
He continued to explore, kissing further down over his belly and down to his bellybutton. He dipped his tongue in, wondering if it would be as nice as it was for humans. But Connor didn't react. Hank figured that his bellybutton was simply a design-choice and therefore had not the same effect.   
  
He reached to open the zip on Connor's pants, when the android reached to stop him.   
  
"I'm not sure you would enjoy me in the state that I'm in." He carefully explained.   
  
"How about you let me decide that for myself?" Hank raised an eyebrow at him. "I won't go there if you don't feel comfortable with it, but if that's only because you worry that I would not enjoy it, then you have to understand that I don't give a fuck what it's your pants."   
  
Connor hesitated, his LED going yellow for a few moments.   
"I told you that I was built to perform certain tasks in order to seduce an answer out of suspects. But also, that I'm a prototype. I don't… have anything installed yet that could do that."   
  
"So? You don't have a dick, or…?"   
  
"Or a vagina, for the matter. No. I fear I cannot please you like that."   
  
Hank made a curious sound. Vagina, huh? Connor had explained him before that gender was not exactly something that applied to androids, but he had never considered…   
Well, that surely was interesting.   
  
"Can I see?" He still stubbornly insisted. "I want to see all of you, Connor. Like I said: I don't give a flying fuck."   
  
Connor hesitated again, looking puzzled.   
"If you want to, of course. Shame of nudity is not something I possess, but… I just don't understand why."   
  
"Because I fucking like you, Connor. And when a human likes another human, they usually want to see each other naked. You're not excluded from that because you're an android." Hank grumbled and started to tuck down Connor's pants, together with his underwear.   
  
Soon the clothes ended up next to their bed on the floor.  
And Hank had to swallow hard. His cock twitched in his pants when his eyes scanned that beautiful body lying under him. Sprawled out for him to see.   
Long, hairless legs, the dip of his perfectly small hips, an athletic belly and chest and that pretty face.   
Hank could not believe how lucky he was. How many people would kill to switch with him right now?   
  
His eyes settled between Connor's legs and indeed there was simply… nothing. Like a Ken doll. Except for a little silver slit that reminded Hank of something like an USB port on his laptop.   
"You're beautiful, Connor. " He finally choked out, his voice sounding deeper and rough with arousal.   
  
Again, a little sigh – So androids were not immune to flattery, huh?   
"I'm glad you enjoy my design."   
  
"Not your design. _You."_ Hank corrected him and reached to gently make him spread his legs a little.   
As he did that, something caught his eye. The port was… glistening. Wet. If his Laptop would be doing that, he would be worried. But Connor was not a simple piece of technology.   
  
He reached down and brushed his fingers over the slit and Connor made a garbled little sound – fingers clawing into the sheets under him.   
  
"Okay." Hank said. "Explain." Because he had no idea what the fuck just happened.    
  
"It's…" Connor actually stopped for a moment. Whatever Hank was doing really _was_ making him slower.  
"It's a connection port. Should I decide to purchase a penis or a vagina, I would attach it there. It's supposed to produce lubricant, which would function as wetness in case of a vulva and would be reused as ejaculate in case of a penis. I… Don't think it's supposed to already do that with nothing attached to it. But it does. It simply started the program when you touched me. I don't understand…"   
  
"You're aroused. I guess?" Hank didn't claim to understand what the hell was happening with Connor's body. He could just assume from how humans worked and hope that Connor was designed to work in a similar way.   
"Does it feel good when I touch you here?" He rubbed the port again, feeling the warm wetness under his fingers.   
  
"Mhmh…" Connor's eyes fell close and turned his head to the side.   
  
Hank took that as a yes.   
  
He gently kept on rubbing the little port, drawing circles on the unmoving metal and watched Connor moving away from those little sighs and turn to full on gasps. There was a little sound and Hank figured it were the androids fans working overtime right now to not make him actually fry his insides.   
  
He could only think how handsome Connor looked. How he had his eyes closed and his mouth slightly open. How he clutched the sheets with his long, slender fingers and how his thighs – so milky white and soft looking – were falling more open for Hank, inviting him.   
His own erection was pressing impatiently against his jeans.   
  
"It… It's not supposed to feel good already." Connor then said after a few moments. His voice sounded deliciously whiny.   
"It's supposed to simulate pleasure, it's a connection point, but…"

  
"Well, as far as I got it, this here is the real deal, isn't it? Whatever you attach is just a matter of visuals." Or so Hank assumed from what Connor had explained him. This little port was the connection point – this is where, how Connor had said it, he was gathering and taking in the data.   
  
"It's… I feel so good, Hank. So much data, I can barely process it." Connor all but moaned, aching his back.   
  
Oh, fuck.   
  
"Wait…" Hank took his hand away, but only for a moment. He opened up his jeans and freed his own cock. It was leaking at the tip already, head flushed in a dark red. It was starting to be painful.   
  
"Let me… I have an idea." He tried to explain and Connor gave him a little nod.   
  
Hank reached for Connor's legs and lifted them up by the bend of his knees, pressing them together.   
He then carefully guided his cock between his thighs, so it was pressing right against the little wet port.   
  
"Oh…!" Connor made a sound and Hank knew his idea was nothing but a success.   
  
"Fuck yes, baby. That's it. Told you I don't care what you have in your pants." He smirked, holding Connor's legs up with both hands.   
He started to move his hips, rubbing himself between the soft thighs and against the wet warm of whatever that port was.   
  
A dark, rumbly groan left Hank's throat and he pinched his face in pleasure. It was such a relieve – a deep, instinct to rub himself against and into things. His hips seemed to move on their own, moving how it felt good for him.   
  
And it seemed to be working for Connor as well. The android all but cried out in – so Hank hoped – blissful pleasure.   
  
"Hank…! Hank it's so much, don't stop!" He babbled, being rocked by the sheer force of Hank's hips slapping against the underside of his thighs again and again.   
  
His LED was blinking red rapidly, but for once Hank assumed that was not a bad sign. Only Connor being completely overloaded with that data, which seemed to get him off.   
  
"Fuck, you're so good, baby. You are so wet for me are you not? Look at you enjoying my cock, god yes." Hank growled, feeling himself throb against Connor's skin.   
He would not last very long.   
  
The mattress was creaking under their shared weight and the rocking. The TV was still buzzing in the background, all but forgotten.   
The room soon smelled like sex and sweat and Hank knew it was mostly his own scent.   
He wished he could kiss Connor, but it was impossible from his position.   
All that mattered here was how wet and hot Connor was, how his voice filled his ears and the room.   
  
Hank tried to watch him, tried to keep in mind how he looked and what he sounded like. But soon it became too much and he was overwhelmed by his own pleasure. His eyes fell close and he all but growled a moan when his cock throbbed a final time and he shot his load all over Connor's belly – warm and wet.   
  
He could feel the blood rushing in his ears and his heartbeat as well.   
  
"Hank…!" Connor's voice sounded muffled and he felt the android tense under him, mouth falling open with what the human assumed was the android version of an orgasm.   
  
But suddenly.   
Silence.   
  
Connor all but slumped down like a broken doll. His eyes open and his LED… empty.   
  
"Connor?!" Hank had no time for an afterglow. His heart was suddenly filled with dread and fear.   
"Connor, hey?!" He let go of his legs and leaned over him, shaking his shoulder.    
  
What the fuck?!   
Did Connor shut down?  
Did he break him?!   
  
"Fuck…! Fuck!" Hank sat up, brushing his sweaty wet hair from his face.   
  
What should he do now?!   
  
But before Hank could have a full-blown panic attack, Connor's LED started to blink blue again.  
  
Blink.   
Blink.   
Blink.   
  
And then Connor stirred and turned his head towards Hank with a blissful expression on his face.   
  
"What the fuck?!" Was all that Hank could manage to shout at him.  
  
The android sat up and looked down on himself. He reached and dipped his fingertips against the cum on his belly.   
He looked back up at Hank with a confused expression.   
  
"I seem to have overloaded with data. I had to re-start." He explained with all the calm in the world.   
"I never knew it could feel so good. It usually is a fail-safe for dangerous situations but-"   
  
"Shut up! You gave me a heart attack!" Hank hissed at him, sitting back down. His heart was hammering violently in his chest and he was getting all sweaty from the anxiety.   
  
Connor was quiet for a tiny moment, certainly scanning him.   
He then shuffled closer and hugged Hank close to himself, pressing them against each other in an attempt to comfort him.   
And ruin his clothes with his own jizz.   
Great.   
  
"I apologize, Hank. I didn't know I would react like that or I would have warned you. But I assure you that this was perfectly safe. And… you made me feel really good. I never knew I could experience this. Thank you."   
  
Hank took a deep breath, calming his nerves. He wrapped his arms around the android and buried his face against his neck.   
  
"I'm fucking exhausted now." He grumbled.   
  
"Then sleep. Stay here." Connor smiled and let go of the human again. "I will wash up and you just lie down. And… Give me your clothes, I ruined them."   
  
"You didn't only ruin my clothes. Fucking android."   
  
+-+-+-+   
  
The early morning sun was shining right into Connor's hotel room, bathing it in soft, warm light.   
It was still much too early for Hank, but the shift of a body and the rustling of sheets had him open his eyes curiously.   
  
Oh. Yes, he remembered that he fell asleep yesterday night with his arms tightly wrapped around Connor's slender frame. The android had been surprisingly warm and had Hank wonder if he actually raised his temperature so the human would be nicely warm.   
  
Now the same android was looking down at him with a tender expression and his LED a calm blue.   
  
Hank found that Connor looked like an angel in that soft morning sun with his hair all ruffled and completely naked.   
How lucky he was.   
  
"Morning." He rasped, rubbing his eyes and rolling on his back a bit. His eyes never left Connor's face. How could he look away from such a pretty thing?   
  
"Good morning, Hank." The android reached to brush some hair from Hank's face and press a kiss against his forehead, oh so tenderly.   
  
Fuck.  
Hank knew at that moment if Connor asked for his heart he would put it on the floor and gladly let him step on it.   
No hesitation whatsoever.   
  
"How did you sleep?" The android then asked.   
  
"Like a rock. Haven't slept that good in years." He admitted, shrugging. "Wait… you said you don't really sleep, right? What did you do all night?"   
  
"Checked the news. Prepared a speech. Watched you."   
  
"Fucking creepy?" Hank couldn't help but chuckle. He wasn't even really creeped out. Nothing could bother him right now.   
  
"I apologize. But I never really got the chance to do that, except when I found you passed out on your kitchen floor."   
  
"Which I'm sure was absolutely flattering." Hank remembered that day. Remembered that Connor had broken his window. Until today he wondered if the android didn't realize that his front door was never locked.   
  
"There was whisky all over your shirt." Connor sounded amused about that. "And then it stuck to you so nicely when I put you into the shower."   
  
Oh?  
That had Hank raise an eyebrow at him.   
"Don't tell me you were already checking me out back then."  
  
"I was… having thoughts that were not really part of my programming." The android admitted. "I found you looked very handsome. Wondered what you would look like without clothes. I thought it was pure curiosity because at this point I had never seen a human naked, but… I never found myself so curious with other humans."   
  
"That night I puked my heart out and you still wondered that?" Hank couldn't help a snort. "You're fucking weird, Connor."   
  
"I do realize you have not been in a very flattering situation, but human social standards really mean nothing to me. As far as I know it is uncomfortable for a human to see another human empty their stomach, but since I can't really do that, I was not as affected and-"   
  
"Yeah yeah, it's okay I get it. You robots are superior to us stupid humans."   
  
"That's not what I was trying to say, Hank."   
  
The human laughed and pushed Connor back down into the pillows, rolling above him. He himself had slipped out of his jeans and jacket – of course – before he went to sleep.   
"I know you didn't. I'm just fucking with you."   
  
"That statement is correct in every sense of the word."   
  
"Asshole." Hank leaned down and pressed a gentle, lingering kiss to Connor's mouth. He hoped that the same ´human standards´ didn't apply to Connor when it came to morning breath.    
  
Given that Connor then wrapped his arms around Hank's neck and pulled him closer was giving him a pretty clear answer.   
  
They shared kisses for several minutes – lazy and warm in the morning sun. Hank could not imagine anything more comfortable than this.   
  
He was… happy.   
Simply and purely happy.   
  
Connor left him in a state of mind that made him sure that he didn't want to die anymore. And really – that in itself was a major achievement.   
  
"How about we go have some breakfast in the hotel's restaurant?" No paparazzi allowed in there.  
  
"I don't really have a need for breakfast-" Connor blinked when he saw Hanks expression and then continued. "- but I do think I would enjoy joining you for it."   
  
"Good. Gotta at least let me have breakfast after I fed you so much data yesterday." Hank smirked.   
  
Connor smiled tenderly at him, cupping his cheek. "I don't think I've collected enough just yet. Don't think I ever will."   
  
"Cheeky." Hank rumbled and leaned in for another kiss when the androids LED suddenly went yellow.   
"What is it?"   
  
Connor gently pushed at Hank so he could sit up and stared into nothing for a little moment.   
  
Hank assumed that he was connecting to his buddies again – He really needed to tell Connor to not do that in bed.   
  
"Markus wants to talk to me." He explained then. "After yesterday's attack he-" But the android shook his head.   
"I'm sure it's nothing." He smiled at Hank, kissing the tip of his nose. "I will get dressed and join Simon in his room so we can all connect. Why don't you go have your breakfast? I'm sorry I can't join you."   
  
"I feel like a token-wife who is send away when her husband is working." Hank joked and rolled his eyes but left the bed then to collect his clothes.   
  
He was already mourning the warm and comfort of it.   
  
"What do you think Markus wants?" He still had to ask as he got dressed.   
  
Connor joined him, picking up his own clothes and slowly getting dressed.   
"Maybe he is scared because his partner got attacked. I think he just wants to make sure we are okay. Wants to warn us we need to be careful."   
  
Hank truly hoped so.   
Yesterday before they had returned to Connor's room, he had tried to eardrop on his co-workers – well aware that he would not get any information otherwise.   
  
Simon and Connor had transmitted the attackers face to the DPD – which was already much more than the victims before that could have done.   
Connor had been disconnected from the DPD's databanks as soon as he had stopped working there – so there was no way of telling them exactly who he was, but he had been able to tell them that the attacker was 32 years old, human and Caucasian.   
  
If that really had been the Body-part-collector, he had been careless. Made a mistake.   
Hank knew this was bound to happen at some point. Those serial-criminals, especially those with a pattern, got careless eventually. All of them.   
  
Hank hoped that that meant he would be caught quickly. Or maybe he even was caught at this very moment. He couldn't know until his suspension was over.  
  
Maybe that would calm Markus down as well and he would not cause Simon and Connor and the whole DPD too many problems.   
And hell, he could if he wanted to. He was the most influential android at this point. If he wanted to cause them trouble, he could. Even if it was just turning the public eye on them.   
  
Both of them were dressed then and looked somewhat presentable.   
  
"I guess we see each other later?" Hank already felt like he didn't want to leave. He just wanted to spend some time with Connor in that warm, wonderful nest of a bed.   
  
"I'll join you in the restaurant as soon as I am done." Connor smiled and stepped closer to kiss him goodbye.   
  
"Well, then hurry the fuck up." Hank smirked and kissed him another time, before he stepped outside the room.   
  
Officer Cooper shot them a glance – he had been the one for the night shift again, soon he be taken over by Lisa Chen and he probably was well aware of why Hank had stayed inside that room. _Again_.   
  
"Morning." Hank greeted him nonchalantly like it was the most normal thing in the world to leave your male ex-partners and android's room after spending the night.   
  
Screw what Cooper was thinking.   
  
Connor shot him a last glance and a little smile, before he knocked on Simon's door and vanished inside.   
  
At least the breakfast would be for free   
  
+-+-+   
  
An hour and three cups of coffee later, Hank could see Connor entering the Hotel's restaurant.   
  
People were not really paying attention to him. The sheer amount of money that people were leaving here promised a higher society public that didn't really care for no android politician.   
Which was exactly why they had chosen this hotel.   
  
There was a rich buffet and the best coffee that Hank had ever drank. Hence why he enjoyed his hour free to eat whatever quite a bit.   
  
But now he saw Connor's grim expression and his red LED and he knew that moment of joy was over.  
  
"So it didn't go well." Hank greeted him and watched him sit down opposite of him.   
  
Connor reached inside his jacket-pocket and fished out the coin, playing around with it in a nervous habit.   
  
"Markus thinks the Collector will try and attack us again. He didn't get what he wanted. We all agreed he risked this for attention, but the press didn't catch on. He will risk it another time. This time maybe trying to get to me. Or Simon again, because he might know he can't get to me so easily." Connor then explained, staring at the table as he talked.   
"Markus wants us to leave Detroit. Now."   
  
Hank's eyes got a little wider and his heart did a painful skip.   
He was under no illusion that what he had with Connor was on borrowed time. That Connor would need to leave at some point.   
But Hank had hoped for a few days at least.   
Should this already be over?   
  
"But… don't you still have things to do here?" He was fishing for hope at this point. Just give him a little more. Some more hours.   
  
"They can easily be cancelled. The most important things we did the first two days." Connor explained and Hank knew he was not showing his emotion in his voice again, talking calm.

  
"So, … when?" The question left a sour taste in his mouth.   
  
"The car is already waiting. The next flight starts in 2 hours and 3 minutes. We are going back to Washington." Connor stopped to toss his coin between his hands. "… Hank. I don't want to leave." He admitted in a quiet, hushed voice.   
  
"You have to." Hank hated being responsible sometimes. "Markus is probably right. You guys can't risk another attack. Detroit is dangerous right now."   
He didn't think too much about it, but that Markus wanted them to leave also suggested that the DPD had not yet caught the attacker. That the man yesterday was able to flee.   
  
Connor's hands balled to fists and he stayed quiet for a tiny moment.   
"Will you come with me to the airport?" He then asked, in perfect calm, even though his whole body seemed to be boiling with frustration and anger.   
  
"Of course I will."    


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Daeg who let me burrow her HC for how Connor looked inside his pants <3


	9. Chapter 9

Hank eventually found himself back inside a car, Connor sitting to his left and Simon to his right.   
He felt like he was sitting in between two thunderstorms. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.   
  
The two androids seemed to have had a fight.   
  
The silence was driving him mad, but he didn't dare to say the first word.   
  
Hank felt Connor's hand reaching for him, tangling their fingers together and holding it.  
He could see that Simon was glancing over to their connected hands.   
  
Hank breathed out soundly, because he felt like something unspoken had just happened.   
  
"You should not do that when we get out of the car." Simon, finally breaking the silence, said and looked outside the cars window again.   
  
"Oh, you don't say?" Hank wouldn't say that Connor was snapping at Simon, because his voice was calm. But it was implied.   
"Only Markus gets to kiss one of his partners in public. Isn't that frustrating for you, Simon? Having to hide it? Seems unfair to me."   
  
Partners.   
Hank was put on the same level here as North and Simon were with Markus.   
He couldn't help but be a bit proud about that.   
  
Still, he gently pressed Connor's hand and said:   
"Don't be like that, Connor. It's not you."   
  
Connor made a frustrated sound and finally looked back out his own window.   
  
And with that the heavy silence was back and it gave Hank time to think while his fingers were tangled with Connor's.   
  
Dark thoughts easily came back to him now he had to mentally prepare himself saying goodbye to his android again.   
Soon he would be back to the loneliness of his own home and they would maybe spend months apart.   
Back to skype, back to hearing about Connor on the news, back to reading about him on social media – the awful gossip, the speculations about what people he had shared a bed with.   
Hank was one of those now. A gossip. A whisper. A shadow to the great and famous Connor.   
  
But maybe it was better like this, his self-doubt whispered in the back of his head.   
  
That Connor had been so angry, even fought with Simon, was partly Hank's fault as well. He was encouraging him to be more human, to feel and experience the good and the bad. And being angry, frustrated and egoistic at times was just part of the deal.   
  
Was that the right way to guide Connor, though?   
Didn't Hank make the android feel more miserable in his attempts to make him feel better?   
  
When he had arrived in Detroit he had been so sure of what he was doing. Helping Markus and fighting for the rights of his people.   
Sure, he had spoken about his doubts, but wasn't it Hank who had pushed them further?   
  
Hadn't it been him who had dragged Connor along to a crime scene so he would realize just how much he missed working with the DPD?   
  
Hadn't it been him who had told Connor it was okay to want something? To end it all if he was unhappy?   
  
And hadn't it been him who had been weak and foolish and let the android kiss him? So now Connor was left with the wish to be with him as well?   
  
Maybe Hank should have not done all of this.   
Maybe Connor would be happier right now.   
  
If he just kept his feet still and did his job like Fowler had wanted him to.   
Just accompany the two politicians to their important meetings during the day, say his goodbyes for the night.   
  
Don't put the seed of thoughts into Connor's head that could make him doubt it all. Just be a supportive friend.   
And don't…   
Don't kiss him.   
Suck it up and be his friend, because that is already much more than you deserve, old man – His self-doubt hissed at him like an evil little devil on his shoulder.   
  
But as always Hank had fucked it up already. There was no turning back now and honestly, no matter how bad he might feel about it, he didn't want to go back anyway.   
  
He explained to Connor that it was okay to want something and to be selfish sometimes – so who would he be to not follow his own advice?   
  
Hank was ripped from his thoughts when he felt Connor's hand pressing his own gently. He turned his head and could see that the android was looking at him.   
  
"Hank… don't think so hard." He said in a soft tone. "I can see that you do because your mouth makes that thin line when you think about bad things. I'm sorry I set such a negative mood just now."   
  
"Don't apologize again, Connor. You really need to stop that." There he was again rotting this polite little robot even more.   
"It's nothing, I- …" He hesitated. "It's just hard to think you will be gone soon again. I feel like you just arrived."   
  
Connor bit his bottom lip and looked down to their connected hands. He then shrugged a little helplessly.   
"When I look this scenario up they say to look back on the positive things and don't mourn that it will be over soon. I find it very hard to follow that advice right now. I feel… Sad." He said as if he needed a moment to identify that feeling.   
  
"Me too." Hank sighed and rubbed his face with his free hand.   
  
He could see that Simon was glancing over to them, but he was smart enough to stay quiet. Hank was not sure if he would be able to stay polite right now.   
  
+-+-+-+   
  
When they arrive at the airport a few phone calls are being made before they could even think about leaving the car.   
They had to inform the airport security that they would be inside the halls, they had to make a quick plan on how to deal with eventual press and where they would go and wait for the flight to take off.   
  
Just a little while later their door was being opened by an android that wore a little badge to identify him as part of the security team.   
In the distance, a few steps away, Hank could see more of them. They all looked exactly the same. Which probably came in handy when you worked in a job like that.   
  
"Good morning." The android greeted them with a friendly and calm voice. "Me and my co-workers will accompany you to the first-class waiting area. The media should at least be stopped by the first-class security that doesn't allow for people to enter the area without a ticket."   
  
"Thank you." Connor spoke up. "I would like to take lieutenant Anderson with us into the waiting area. He will not accompany us for the flight and will leave as soon as we are gone."   
  
Hank was well-aware that he technically could not enter the first-class waiting area, since he had – in fact – no flight and expensive ticket to show.   
Connor was simply being able to ask this because he was an important figure. No one – especially not an android – would deny him a simply wish. Even if it was somewhat against the rules.   
  
"Of course." The security android confirmed.   
  
They slipped out of the car and Connor's hand left Hank's again. They could not do this. They could not show any affection in public. It probably would already stir the gossip that Hank was here with them at all.   
Maybe eventually the press would calm down and simply assume they were nothing but good friends that hadn't seen each other in a while.   
  
Still. Hank missed the connection of their hands already.   
  
As soon as the androids had left the hotel, journalist from different papers were alarmed to follow them. To document and to ask questions – even though they never got an answer.   
  
They walked down the path towards the airport entrance and into the hall with a storm of flashing light and cameras clicking already. The security had to make sure they were not being surrounded and stopped from walking by all those different people with black, expensive cameras.   
  
You could guess by the kind of questions they yelled which kind of papers they came from.   
  
_´What is the reason for you leaving Detroit so early?´  
´Does it have something to do with the attacks?´  
´Do you plan to continue your talks about the legalization of android marriage another time?´  
´What about the plan on renewable energies?´_  
  
Those where probably the ones from more serious newspapers, while the gossip part of the bunch shouted things like:   
  
_´Do Markus and North plan to adopt a child at some point?!´  
´Simon, do you have a lover?´  
´Is Anderson your boyfriend?!´  
´How does that even work – a human and an android?!´_

  
Priorities, Hank thought. They clearly set them.   
He caught himself thinking that it would be easier if only the serious news would be interested in Connor and the rest of the bunch.   
It was surprising to him still that they treated politicians like pop-stars. But on the other hand, there never have been androids in that position. Hell, there never have been androids to be considered alive.  It was all still new.  
And while there were a bunch of documentaries by now on how androids worked and how they felt and even an android boyband – they had been a thing before the revolution, causing a debate on if music by humans was better than ´machine made´ one -  but Markus and the lot where still a sensation.   
  
So of course, humans wanted to know about their private lives.  
Hank just wished they weren't so noisy about it.   
  
Eventually they reached the waiting-area that could only be accessed with a proper ticket, before the actual check-ins.   
Security stopped the press from entering here and while the large security guy shot Hank a glance, he let him pass. They clearly had communicated that the one human was allowed in for a moment.   
  
The area was divided from the rest of the airport by big glass walls and a big double-glass door that was protected by a security guard and a lady in an airport uniform.   
  
So, while the press could not follow them inside and they got the chance to have a breather, they still were able to see them pretty clearly.   
The storm of clicking and shouted questions was still raging on and pointing in their direction – only a little more muffled now.   
  
The few people that were inside just shot them bored or annoyed glances. They were the usual audience of such a place: white, middle-aged men in fancy suits that probably cost more than a whole month of Hank's wage.   
  
Simon sat down on a bench, stiff and hands neatly folded on his lap.   
His big, blue eyes were looking at Hank and Connor. "I will go into stasis for a little bit. The noise is making me anxious." He admitted and nodded towards the journalists. "We still have about 1 hour and 13 minutes until our flight starts. I will set a timer for myself."   
  
Connor's face twitched into a somewhat annoyed expression for an instant. If Hank hadn't looked at him in just that moment he would have missed it and just seen the usual calm expression.   
So, Connor was still angry at Simon. He wondered what exactly had been said between the two that the, usual so controlled and composed Connor would be so… pissed.   
  
"Alright. You do that." Connor's voice was a perfect calm. Maybe the two of them feared that people could catch on. They were wearing a mask and behaving in a certain way that would not cause people to talk.   
  
Hell, Hank was getting an idea why Markus must be furious about what happened. The androids were on tip-toes – doing their best to show only their best behavior. No scandals, only a friendly, calm and smiling face for the cameras. Only smart and peaceful decisions in politics.   
  
It was bullshit. If they wanted to be seen as alive, they should act alive.   
He wondered how this perfect show was helping their cause.   
But, if he thought more about it, when was a politician ever honest?   
  
Connor sat down on another free bench that was opposite from Simon's and waited for Hank to sit down next to him.   
  
They could not do anything right now. No touches, no longing gazes. All eyes were on them.   
  
"How are you feeling?" Hank wondered.   
  
"You would be surprised how rarely humans ask me that." There was a little smile on Connor's face.   
  
"I don't think I am. I think we still have a hard time to figure out that you feel at all."   
  
Connor looked down to his hands, also folded in his lap. Maybe that was just something programmed into androids – to sit like that.   
  
"Which is why Markus and everyone need to work on that. That is why our work is so important." The android said in a low voice.   
"But still I never was more conflicted about this. My objective is _this._ Making people understand what we are, what we want and what rights we should have. That both sides can profit from it. I should not feel so unfulfilled about it."   
  
Hank rubbed the back of his neck, sighing.   
"Would it help you to break this up? Us. I mean."  He was damn proud of himself to ask this without his voice shaking, because while he spoke those words his heart felt like it was breaking. There was fear. So much fear that Connor would actually say yes. But maybe it was for the better.   
It felt like his heart and his brain were fighting a battle right now.   
  
But how long has it been since Hank had listened to his heart?   
And his head was nothing but a mess of alcohol damage and depression anyway. All he got from that fucker was the wish to die.   
His heart, for the first time in years, told him to be alive.   
Enjoy this.   
  
How badly he wanted to listen to it.   
  
"It would kill me." Connor said with a serious voice, looking at Hank with an equally serious expression.   
  
"Whoa, come on, Connor. Don't be so… Fuck, you sound like me. I'm so bad for you." Hank shook his head.

  
"Stop saying that." Connor's brows drew together, making him look even more irritated. "You're not bad for me. I was joking when I said you're a bad influence. Hank, I'm so thankful you did this for me. Without you I would be destroyed by now – making space for an RK900 that is better and faster than me. He would be a machine as well, just like any other android and I would be dead. Without you, I'd never have figured out how nice it can be to boot up from stasis again with someone lying next to you. And don't get me started on all that data. Hank, I am so happy when I'm around you. I cannot possibly describe it in words. I wish I could show you."

  
The skin on his fingertips pulled back, leaving him with all white around the fingernails. Not that Hank would need that visual-clue – he knew what Connor meant.   
  
Hank sighed and brushed some hair from his face. This was not how this was supposed to be. Nothing like this was. They were both in a difficult individual situation.   
  
Hank even wondered just _how_ unhappy Connor was. He kept saying he was. That he was unfulfilled and sad. Maybe it was at a point where Hank should be worried. Who knew?   
  
"I will stop saying that. But you have to admit you're rather dramatic right now." Hank tried to poke Connor a little bit, tried to tease a smile from him.   
  
And it worked.   
  
"Okay I take it back: If someone had taught me to be dramatic, it was you." Connor smiled and shuffled just a little bit closer.   
"Sometimes I still struggle to express the emotions I'm feeling, but… I find being ´dramatic´ is a good outlet."   
  
"Oh, you better not get used to that." Hank chuckled. "Nobody likes a drama queen."   
  
"Well, I happen to like one."   
  
"Are you seriously calling me a drama queen right now?"   
  
The smile on Connor's face was making Hank's heart skip. It was so youthful and honest and its beauty was blinding.   
"Huh. Look at that. You're a liar." He teased again.   
  
Connor's face fell and he tilted his head in question. "I fail to see where I lied?"   
  
"You said you're still bad at expressing what you feel and yet you have the most beautiful smile I've ever seen. Nothing compared to that uncanny valley shit you did when we first met."   
  
"Hank…" The android smiled again and looked like he was struggling for words – which Hank found was a wonderful payback for all the times he left him speechless.

  
"Online research says that usually humans need a bit of time and that saying it too quickly could ruin a relationship." Connor then said, looking very focused. His LED was spinning yellow quickly.   
"But I think I want to say it. Despite what you said, I really _do_ struggle to express myself. I am, so to say, a creature of logic and not of emotion. If I can't solve a problem by mathematic and algorithmic possibilities or simply ask an online databank for help, I… get unsure. And feelings are just that. But because I want you to know how I feel… and I can't possibly express this with fleshly engagements, I need to tell you with words. Even if I risk that I do it too quickly. After all we might not see each other in a while and I would rather tell you in person. Hank. I…" Red, yellow, red, "I think I really do l-"   
  
"Connor?" An elderly woman in a business suit approached them and Hank suddenly had very violent fantasies about her.   
  
What the fuck was that timing?!   
  
"My daughter is a big fan of yours. I was wondering if we could take a picture together? I apologize if I interrupted something."   
  
"No, it's… fine." Connor's light still was blinking red, but he seemed to force an understanding smile on his face.   
  
While the woman leaned down to take a picture with the android, Hank sighed and leaned back.   
He was no fool. It was pretty obvious what Connor tried to tell him there but it was still hard to believe.   
Hard to accept that someone might love him. Someone who Hank also…   
  
But maybe this was a bad time. While Connor was right that they might not see each other in person for a while, they were not exactly alone right now. Hell, there were cameras on them right fucking now.   
  
Maybe it was a sign that this woman had interrupted them.   
Another time. They should talk about this another time.   
  
"Thank you. I support what you do." The woman said her goodbyes and left them alone again.   
  
Connor turned back to Hank but before he could say anything, Hank interrupted him by raising his hand.   
  
"Maybe we should not talk about this here. We can't… I mean we're kind of in public right now." Oh, how he hated this. In a perfect world they would still be in that hotel room's bed, whispering sweet nothings to each other.   
  
Connor's shoulders slumped and he nodded defeated.   
  
Hank sighed deeply and looked around the airport lobby. Through the glass walls he could see many of the shops that were inside the airport halls.   
He wished he could go out there and buy something for Connor. Buy a little gift for him that he would remember him when he was away. Something that would show him how much he meant to Hank.   
But he could not set a foot outside without being swarmed by paparazzi so it was not possible.   
  
He looked back to Connor, who seemed to try his best to keep his neutral expression.   
  
"We can talk over skype again." Hank suggested, trying to be the bigger man again.   
  
"I would like that." Connor met his eyes. "I always enjoyed our conversations."   
  
"Do you know where you will be heading next?"   
  
"As far as I am informed there will be a meeting with the Queen soon. I assume since our timetable was cut short from Detroit, Markus will find a way to keep us busy in Washington until then."   
  
"Wait… The Queen? Of what?"   
  
"Great Britain."   
  
"Oh, you gotta be kidding me!"   
  
"I hear she has a lot of dogs." Connor smiled and Hank could only shake his head about that guy. Dogs – of course that would make him happy.   
"She is a supporter, you know?" He then continued to explain. "And Great Britain has the biggest population of androids in Europe. She wants to convince the court to make laws and make it possible to wake them all up. It would be a big step for Europe."   
  
Hank scratched his beard and nodded. Again, it was showing how important it was what Connor was doing. What they were all doing.   
They were the faces and the voices of every single android in the world. It was a great burden.   
  
But Hank couldn't help but wonder, if Connor didn't already do enough. Markus had a team behind him… it was not that Connor was the only one helping.   
  
"I hope you don't fuck that up. I hear meeting the Queen is full of bullshit rules." Hank muttered instead, because he didn't want to say what he was actually thinking.   
  
"I'm sure I can manage."   
  
Suddenly a woman's voice spoke through the speakers of the airport:   
  
_"Passengers of the flight 294 to Washington are now required to get to the nearest check-in station."_   
  
And as if that was an alarm for Simon, the android's LED blinked blue a few times as he came out of stasis again.   
He got to his feet and looked over to Connor.   
  
It was time to leave.   
  
Connor got up then as well and watched all those business people walking towards the closest check-in, which was exclusive for the first-class passengers.   
  
Simon gave Hank a little nod. "It was nice to meet you, Lieutenant." Before he followed the businessmen and started to queue.   
  
Hank sighed heavy, looking over to the journalists going wild and taking as many pictures as they could.   
Seems like they would not even be able to have a private moment as they said their goodbyes.   
  
He swallowed thickly, feeling his throat going dry and his heart beating painfully in his chest. He was angry. Angry that they were ripped apart so quickly after they finally had started something so sweet and tender. Angry that media would probably still tear them apart no matter how much they were holding back.   
  
It was not fair.   
  
"Hank…" Connor looked at him. "I have to say goodbye."   
  
And what the android did then, was worse than a knife in the heart:   
He held out his hand for him to shake.   
  
So that was it?   
That was how they would have their final farewell?  
   
Well, not final – Hank tried to remind himself.   
They would see each other again.   
  
Hank cleared his throat and took Connor's hand to give it a firm shake.   
  
What was a red LED on Connor's side, was wet eyes on Hanks. They were both unhappy with this and unable to change it.   
  
"I hope to see you soon again, Connor."   
  
"I hope so too." Connor gave him a brave little smile and let go of his hand. With a last glance he turned away and walked over to the check-in.   
  
Hank had never felt so alone.  
  
He watched Connor going past the security and off he was.   
  
He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a tiny moment to collect himself – when his phone started to vibrate.

  
  
_I miss you already.  
\- Connor._   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's NOT the end yet, guys ;P I have some more chapters planned, so stay tuned <3
> 
> Let me know what you think <3


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took so long to write, but I hope you like it :D 
> 
> Please pay attention to the tags - this chapter is a happy one, but there is mention of some heavier stuff as well!   
> Please take care <3

Maybe he should get a new laptop.   
  
Hank was sitting by his kitchen table, listening to his clock ticking and Sumo snoring by the TV.   
  
Somehow, he felt like he had this situation happen a billion times before. Exactly like that. Groundhog Day all over again.  
  
Maybe he was going mad.   
Maybe he was just really losing it slowly.   
  
It's been over a week since he had last actually spoken to Connor.   
  
Of course, they had been texting daily, but it was just not the same. He missed the sound of his voice and the sweet smile on his lips. He missed seeing his big brown eyes looking at him with such wonder.   
  
It was painful to be separated again and on top of all this, Hank was still suspended from work.   
Every single day he was just sitting at home with Sumo, trying to pass his time somehow.   
  
It was times like this that he realized how lonely he actually was. Since Cole died he had successfully deleted all of his friends from his life. Or they had forgotten him.   
Maybe they just didn't want to deal with his depressed moods.   
  
Of course, there was Jimmy and Matt and Chris and all those other people he often saw. But a bar owner, the guy from Chicken Feed and the boys who took his bets were not exactly what Hank would call friends.   
  
He couldn't call them when he was feeling like shit. He couldn't go out with them.   
  
And while he was sitting at home alone, missing Connor dearly and just wasting away, he didn't have the strength to say no to the bottle.   
  
Hank was a little disappointed in himself because of that.   
He was going dry, slowly but surely. And now he was back to drinking away the pain.   
  
  
The silence was back as well. Scratching at the doors of his sanity.   
He couldn't stand it. And by now Hank was aware it was closely intermingled with his loneliness.   
  
No family, no friends, no Connor to shoo the godawful silence away.   
And now not even his job to keep him busy and take his mind off things.   
  
Hank knew he was in a very bad position right now.   
Dangerous even.   
If it wasn't for looking forward to Connor and the little bit of hope that they could see each other again – that they had a future – the gun in his safe felt more like an option every day.   
  
And it frightened him that he had those thoughts again.   
  
He thought he was over this…   
  
Hank glanced over to the picture of Cole that he had hung up after the android evolution.   
His wonderful boy smiling back at him and Hank felt his eyes sting.   
This too, was a step backwards.   
  
He had thought that he finally accepted what happened and had chosen to keep his son close to his heart without blaming himself for his death.   
  
But now he was back at it again.  
  
"Fuck." Hank cursed and rubbed his eyes.   
He got up from his chair and walked over to grab a glass and pour himself a glass of whisky.   
  
Just one.   
Because today should be a good day.   
  
In a few minutes Connor would call him on skype again and they could finally talk.   
  
But maybe this one glass would make it easier if this turned out to be more painful than happy.   
  
He emptied it in one go and sat back down in front of his laptop.   
  
It was 9 o' clock again. Always that time. Hank wondered if androids set a rule to when their work for the day was officially over. They didn't really need breaks, but maybe it was an attempt to go along the time schedules of humans.   
  
The skype call button illuminated the screen of Hank's old shitty laptop and the man ran his fingers through his hair a last time in an attempt to look presentable.   
He then clicked the little green camera button.   
  
Connor's face showed up and the android smiled when he saw Hank show up on his side.   
"Good evening, Hank." In the background was, again, a hotel bed and the usual hotel furnishing. He knew that Connor was in Great Britain right now.   
  
Always the hotels, no actual home.   
  
"Hello Connor." Hank leaned with his arms on the table, smiling gently. He was so happy to see the android again. He had missed him so much.   
"How are things over there?"   
  
Connor looked pretty smug when he was asked that and reached down towards his left side.   
He then held a plushie up for the camera and Hank to see.   
It was a St. Bernard plushie that was wearing a scarf with the pattern of the British flag printed on it.   
  
"I found this in a souvenir shop and I just couldn't stop myself." Connor explained and Hank couldn't help but laugh a little.

  
It was amazing how he was so deadly depressed just a bit ago and as soon as he talked to Connor, he had to laugh.   
Of course, this wouldn't fix his mentality – he would need proper therapy eventually, but it was a relieve to feel a little better for a tiny while.   
  
"You do know those souvenirs are overprized trash, right? I mean it's pretty cute but…"   
  
"Shh, I don't want to hear that, Hank. I like this. I wanted to have it. You said that if I want something I am allowed to have it for myself."   
  
Hank snorted again, shaking his head amused. "I can't believe you took that advice and used it for shopping urges."   
  
"I came to realize that I am now in possession of a lot of money. It is an important right to have – to be legally allowed to earn money and have it for yourself. But I also realized that I'm not spending it on anything.   
I have no need to eat or drink, no need for sleeping and even my change of clothes happens only because we were advised to do so for the press. The hotels cost a small fortune, yes and there is the occasional repair cost and the price for thirium, but even those are relatively small since we made sure Cyberlife keeps their prices affordable." The android shrugged.   
  
"So you decided to spend it on toys?"   
  
"Only on this one." Connor lifted the plushie up again with a small smile before he set it down next to him on the hotel's desk.   
"It reminds me of home."   
  
_Home._  
  
Hank had to do his best not to choke on that word and make a fool of himself.  
  
"Okay, you're right. Maybe it was a good investment."   
  
"Of course it was." Connor smiled at him again.   
  
"You're such a little shit." Hank chuckled. "I'd would rather you are here and could see the actual Sumo. He misses you a lot."   
  
"I miss him too. Both of you." Connor looked down to his hands as if hesitating. "Hank? I have to tell you something. I have-"   
  
And suddenly the connection of the call broke up and the picture of Connor was frozen on his screen.   
  
"Fuck!" Hank slapped his hand on the table soundly, making Sumo bark in protest. "Come on , you shitty internet connection!"   
  
It took around three minutes before Connor moved again.   
  
"Hank?" The android looked concerned. "I think the internet of the hotel just broke down for a moment. I use my own to stabilize the connection."   
  
Hank sighed and leaned back in his chair. The pain of technology. Internet was still as shitty as it was when he was young.   
"At least you can do that. Pretty handy that your brain is fucking Wi-Fi spot."   
  
"It's not a-" Connor shook his head. "That's not how this works."   
  
"But you give your laptop your brain-internet, don't you?"   
  
"Technically, but-"   
  
"So that IS how it works. Brain Wi-Fi spot."   
  
Connor sighed and since androids had no need for that, Hank knew he had successfully annoyed his pretty android. That made him smile.   
It was not only Connor who could be a little shit at times.   
  
"Anyway." The android continued then. "What I originally wanted to say was, that I have two surprises for you."   
  
Hank raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. Connor's idea of surprises was either a hit or miss at times. Sometimes the big implicated promise behind that was nothing but a healthy carrot cake recipe for Hank to try and other times it was him showing up in Detroit – and how that could end Hank was well aware of now.   
  
"Okay. I'm listening."   
  
"The first surprise will come to you in a few days. It will be in an envelope and I want you to call me as soon as you can when you get it. Don't open it before you're on the line with me." Connor explained.   
  
An envelope?   
Hank had no idea what Connor was planning there.   
"Okay. I will do that. And the other surprise? You said there are two."   
  
The android smiled and looked around himself as if he wanted to make sure that he was alone.   
He reached for his laptops screen and tilted it down a little so that Hank could see his chest and lap, but his face was hidden so far that only his mouth was to be seen.   
  
"I did some research and… I read into ways of humans keeping each other entertained in a distant relationship…" The android hummed and started to open the buttons of his shirt. Very slowly.   
  
_Oh_.   
  
_Oh!_   
  
"Oh fuck…" Hank's throat suddenly felt too dry and his dick too heavy in his boxer shorts. Connor clearly did he right kind of research there.   
  
"What do you say, Hank?" Connor's voice sounded teasing but so sweet. Just like how he had talked to him when he had asked him to join him in his room for the first time.   
  
The android let his shirt slip off his shoulders and rubbed his elegant hands over his chest, down to his bellybutton.   
He toyed with the rim of his pants.   
  
"Want me to continue?"  
  
"Fuck yes." Hank growled and shuffled a little closer to the screen. "Continue, baby. I want to see you."   
  
Connor smiled but his hands didn't continue.   
"I want to see you too, Hank. I realized that you never got undressed when we… took our relationship to the next level. I regret that deeply now. I want to see."   
  
Hank cleared his throat.   
  
_Oh boy._   
  
There had been a reason that Hank had not been too eager to do anything but open his pants. He really was not the fittest anymore.   
He used to be. When he was in his 30's he was _buff_.   
Hell, when a Red Ice Dealer saw him they usually shat their pants in fear. He had been a very tall and very heavy in muscles police-officer with a gun. The nightmare of any criminal.   
  
But that was the past. Sure, he was still tall. But he hadn't trained in years, had been eating like shit… He had gotten chubby. His skin was sagging. There was more hair on him than 10 years ago, he was sure as well.   
  
There was this deep primal fear that Connor would change his mind about the whole thing as soon as he saw him naked.   
  
But he could not chicken out now. He didn't want to let him down.   
  
"Hank?" Connor's worried voice was pulling him back to the here and now. "You don't have to if it makes you uncomfortable."   
  
"No. Nonsense. Let me just… Let me get to the bedroom. I feel weird with Sumo snoring in the corner." He muttered, unplugged his laptop and took it over to his bedroom. He closed the door behind him and placed the computer on his bed.   
  
Hank took a breather to calm his nerves before he pulled his T-shirt over his head and lay down on his side, so he was facing the camera again.   
  
He was worried, because the soft skin of his belly was now pulling sideways. Was this weird? Was it ugly? Would Connor even enjoy this?   
  
But Connor was smiling with perfect teeth. He had turned the camera back to his face and his eyes were nothing but soft and tender.   
  
"You look very handsome, Hank." He said with so much honesty in his voice, that Hank dared to believe he actually thought so. Even though it was weird.   
  
"Shut up. I'm not exactly a supermodel, I know that." He still grumbled.   
  
"You had a hard time believing me before, and I expected no different answer from you. But I plan to work on your confidence. I will simply keep reinforcing that I really think you are, until you believe me." Connor sounded nothing but amused. "I can't wait to touch you."   
  
Hank felt his face get warm and he shook his head.   
"Okay shut up, seriously. Let's just… not talk about me, okay? Let me see you, baby."   
  
Maybe a change of topic would be better for now.   
  
Connor tilted the camera again, showing off his perfect upper body. He smiled as he let his hands rub down his chest and belly, fingers circling his nipples featherlight.   
  
"I am thankful that you showed me how sensitive this area is." The android all but purred. "I enjoyed touching myself here ever since." He pinched a pink bud and gasped as he did so.   
  
Hank swallowed again. His hand seemed to move on its own as he palmed himself through his boxer-shorts.   
"I plan to show you even more, baby. Can't wait for that."   
  
Connor smiled again and then grabbed his own computer to place it on the beautiful hotel bed. He lay down on his side, just like Hank, so his full body to his knees was on camera.   
  
"I think this might be a better position."   
  
"Oh, fuck yes, it is." Hank growled. "Get rid of those pants, darling. Let me see you."   
  
And Hank's wish was Connor's command. The android didn't do this slow, but rather opened up his pants and shoved them off his legs together with his underwear.   
  
Soon his nude body was lying on that bed in full display for Hank to see and enjoy.   
  
"Fuck. I can't believe how sexy you are." Hank steadily rubbed himself through the cloth of his own underwear, cock growing to full attention in no time.   
  
"I'm glad you enjoy." Connor was all happy smiles. The controlled, neutral expression he usually wore on his face was far gone. Maybe because he knew he had to show Hank he was enjoying this just as much.   
"I think I'm already producing lubrication. It's curious to me that my program chose to do this, even though we're just talking."   
  
Oh god, if that wasn't the hottest shit, phrased in the weirdest way.   
Hank didn't care.  
He was so turned on by this.   
  
His old-self might have said that he had lost his mind to get so hard over android talk.   
  
"Is that so? Why don't you spread your pretty legs and feel it?"   
  
Connor reached between his legs then, rubbing over the little connection port right on his otherwise smooth crotch.   
"Oh…!" He flinched and bit down his lower lip. "I forgot how good this feels…" He held that hand towards the camera then, showing Hank how his fingers were glistening with slick.   
  
"Fuck." Hank growled and couldn't help but finally reach fully into his underwear to free his cock and give it a hearty rub.   
"God yes, you are so wet, look at that." He rumbled. "Rub yourself there, will you, baby? I want to see you enjoy yourself."   
  
Connor tilted his head, mouth open a little bit.   
  
Hank had the weirdest flashback that he had seen that face on Connor before. Was it at Chicken Feed? No. That could not be. Why would he shot him such a ´fuck me´ look when they just got to know each other? …. Wait.   
  
No, this was not the right time to think about that.   
  
Connor's legs fell apart even further and the android turned a little, so he was lying on his back, while his face was still facing the camera.   
His delicate hand slipped back between his thighs, rubbing the pads of his fingers against the wet little port.   
"Oh. _Oh Hank_ …" He all but moaned and ached his back a little bit. His free hand reached for his chest again, rubbing a pink little nipple between his thumb and index-finger.   
  
"Yes, that's it, baby. Show me how good you feel." Hank hissed. He felt a bit like a dirty old man watching porn. But hell, this was nothing short of exactly that: Connor was putting on the best show he had seen in years. He was so pretty and horny and _wet_.  
  
Fuck, how could he not drool over what he saw there?   
  
"Do you feel good too, Hank?" Connor's voice sounded whiny, needy. Just like everything else about Connor it was nothing short of the hottest thing to Hank.   
  
"Heck, I do. You see how hard I am? That's just because you're so fucking hot, Connor. God, I wish I could touch you." He couldn't stop himself but pump his cock in a quick rhythm, matching the way Connor rubbed his fingers on himself.   
  
"And I wish I could suck you. I enjoyed that very much. My mouth was so full, you are so big…" Connor confessed. " _Ah...!_ " His eyes fell close and from that position Hank could also see that his LED was switching from blue to yellow to red and back again.   
Hell, he could _hear_ the slick of Connor touching himself like that.   
  
"I wonder if I could eat you out like this." Hank's voice was thin as he had to gasp for air every now and then. In a way he was glad that Connor might not even be aware that a man his age should be more patient than this.   
This was not his first time doing this on skype and he should not feel like he was ready to finish so soon over this. But no one before had been so hot and willing like Connor – and if Hank was completely honest with himself, it had been a long time since he felt so much for a person on the other side of the line as well.   
  
"I would enjoy that very much." Connor's thighs were shaking slightly and it had Hank wondering if the android was close too. "I bet it would be beneficial how soft and wet your tongue would be."   
  
"Oh, fuck yes it would be." Hank smirked. "I want you to lose your mind, baby. I would eat you so good." He gave his cock a gentle squeeze and rubbed the palm of his hand over the head.   
"I would make sure to go all slow on you at first. Biting down your thighs and kiss you until you're all nice and wet for me."   
  
"Hank…!" Connor's eyes fell close and his head fell back a little. "D-Don't talk like that, it has a curious effect on m-me." His voice started to sound glitchy, like a CD skipping a beat.   
  
So, Connor was into dirty talk, huh?   
Hank didn't mind that at all.   
  
"You know – I wonder if I could fuck you while you do your hivemind talk with your buddies. You would have to answer them and not let them know that I'm above you, rocking you into the mattress."   
"O-Oh you shouldn't – I couldn't…! Shit…!" Connor's mouth fell open in a silent gasp and Hank could see his LED going even wilder than before. "Hank…!"   
  
Oh god that was hot.   
Hank grunted, shaking and felt himself spill all over his hand.   
"Fuck…! God…" He panted, feeling a little sweaty, as he looked down at his dirty hand.  
  
He wanted to clean himself but a quick glance to the laptop screen showed him, that Connor had slumped down again like a doll.   
  
Not moving.   
Not breathing.   
It was still damn creepy to Hank.   
  
He watched, feeling tense. He would not leave and clean up until he saw that Connor had booted up again.   
  
It took not more than a few moments, but it felt too long to Hank, until the android stirred again.   
Connor blinked and his LED went back to a nice and calm blue.   
  
He looked over to his laptop.   
"I enjoyed that." Connor all but sprawled on the bed for Hank to see, his long fingers touched his lips, which were spread into a pretty little smile. "Did you like it too?"  
  
Hank knew that Connor was well aware of how handsome he was and was probably nothing but showing off to him right now.   
  
That prick.   
  
It worked and Hank knew that Connor knew that as well.   
  
"Yeah, you know exactly that I liked that, you smug bastard." Hank snorted and got up to reach for the tissues he stored in his bedroom for exactly that reason.   
When he was somewhat clean again, he lay back down by his laptop.   
"I just wish you wouldn't have to fucking re-start every time you feel good. It's a bit creepy."   
  
"I was considering to purchase something." Connor rolled to his side, so he could face the camera better.   
"Genitals come with a program that I can install on myself. That should fix my overloading problem. I may possess programs to feel good, which are a package with 85 different expressions and 12 different sounds, but I don't think they were meant to actually handle me feeling this good. They were just simulations that I re-coded."   
  
"You said that, yeah." Hank nodded a little. "Maybe it's better. I don't want you to accidentally break something important. Do you know what you would prefer?"   
  
Connor hesitated for a moment, thinking.   
"Both have advantages and disadvantages." He explained then. "I don't think I would mind either. But what seems to be an important point for me is, that if I think about you and my penis gets erect while I hold an interview, it would be very unfortunate. No one would know with a vagina."   
  
Hank couldn't help but explode into laughter.   
Fuck, that mental image was too hilarious.   
  
"I fail to see why you react like that, Hank. I am serious."   
  
"Oh god!" Hank wheezed, holding his belly. "This super important national speech and you all but stand there with a massive boner." He was still laughing.   
  
"Hank!"   
  
"Sorry…! Sorry I stop." He tried to catch his breath and soon his laughs turned into chuckles. "You have to admit that it would be funny."   
  
"For you maybe." Connor huffed, clearly a bit annoyed at Hank. "I would say it would be a poor public representation and unwanted attention on our sexuality. I would prefer to not deal with that problem."   
  
"So? A cooch for you?"   
  
"If you would be fine with that too."   
  
"Connor, this is not about me. You need to feel comfortable. But if it really worries you, all I say is: If you get yourself a pussy, you have to live with me eating you out all the time. I love doing that." Hank smirked. It was no lie even. Hell, he did enjoy cock as well but he was not too fond of the choking that was usually involved when he blew a dude. Eating pussy was much more relaxing to him.   
  
Connor's lips pulled into a little smile.   
"I think I can deal with that."   
  
+-+-+-+   
  
They ended up talking for another hour.   
  
Connor told him about how it is like in Britain. How people were driving on the other side of the road, how they ate their chips with vinegar and how he enjoyed the accent they were speaking with.   
  
"They always sound polite. I find that very refreshing." He claimed.   
  
Hank could only snort about that, thinking that every nation had rude assholes, but people were probably extra nice to Connor.   
The bonus of being famous and all that.   
Connor also explained that he had yet to see a demonstration against what they were doing here, but that he was under no illusion that some people surely were against android rights.   
  
As always, the android showed too much understanding for those people. Hank wished he was a little angrier about that.   
If people went on the streets to yell about how humans should be stripped of their rights, Hank would absolutely go mad.   
  
He wondered if Markus' calm was having an effect on Connor. He got the idea that the android was looking up to their leader in a way, that he assumed to be peaceful and tranquil about everything was the way to go.  
  
Hank knew that Connor had anger in him. He had seen it. So he must be holding back.   
  
Eventually Hank yawned and Connor insisted that he should go to bed.   
  
"I will talk to you soon again, Hank. You should sleep."   
  
"I'd rather talk to you for longer." Hank admitted.   
  
"We can write tomorrow again. I insist that you get some rest. Also keep a look out for your other surprise." The android winked at the camera.   
  
"You sure as hell make me wait for this, don't you?"   
  
"Good night, Hank." Connor looked amused and did a little wave at the camera.   
  
"Good night, baby."   
  
+-+-+-+   
  
Life went on as usual the next two days.   
  
Hank was insanely bored again and sad without anything to do. He was so desperate that he had grabbed his old Harry Potter books and started re-reading them.   
  
Man had he forgotten about his crush on Professor Lupin…   
Good old days.   
  
It was about three in the afternoon when Hank got up from the sofa to grab himself some chocolate – his favorite professor had always been right about the magic of chocolate after all – when someone rang his doorbell.   
  
Hank sighed deeply, because his hair was a mess and he was still in his pajamas – no need to get dressed if you didn't plan on leaving the house that day.   
Sumo was perfectly satisfied with the backyard – old boy wasn't too fond of running around for hours anymore anyway.   
  
He walked over to his front door and opened it up – only to be greeted by his mailman.   
  
"Good afternoon, Mr. Anderson. I have some certified mail for you." He held out an electronic clipboard. "I need you to sign here."  
  
Hank grunted in response and used a little pen to do nothing but a few lines on that pad. No one would check if it was his signature anyway.   
  
"Thank you. Here you go. Good afternoon." The mailman held out a blue envelope for Hank to take and turned to leave as soon as it was in the man's possession.   
  
Hank's eyes got wide and for a moment he just stood in his open doorway, staring at the envelope in his hand.   
_  
Also keep a look out for your other surprise._  
Connor's words rang in his ears.   
  
That must be it. What could this be?   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting to the end :D not sure if the next or the one after the next will be the last one, but we're getting there!
> 
> Thank you for all your comments and support so far <3  
> wouldn't have made it this far otherwise!
> 
> (Also I feel the need to stress this out, because the chapter had this topic and I feared that it might came across as Hank magically not being depressed anymore because of Connor - I hope it became clear I didn't mean it like that. He was just happy there to talk to him.   
>  If a person battles depression, if it's you or someone you know, please seek professional help! Talk to a therapist, a friend, your parents - there is help and hope out there! <3 )

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys like it so far :)  
> Please let me know if you want more? I feel like the fandom has so many wonderful stories, that I'm not sure if mine is even something you want to have continued? 
> 
> (I'm also sorry for minor mistakes. This was not beta read and English is not my first tongue)


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